LOS ANGELES — Reynaldo López’s struggles throughout his season debut weren’t simply the product of a nasty day. The 2024 Braves All-Star was positioned on the 15-day injured listing with proper shoulder irritation on Monday.
Bryce Elder was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill López’s roster spot. Elder can even make López’s scheduled begin towards the Dodgers on Wednesday.
“[López] threw a facet yesterday and it went good, however he went in after the facet and needed to have his shoulder checked,” Braves supervisor Brian Snitker stated. “There’s clearly some irritation in there. We’re getting him checked out at present. I haven’t heard the outcomes but.”
López remained with the staff in Los Angeles to bear evaluations. The 31-year-old hurler was on the injured listing in each August and September due to proper shoulder discomfort. He’ll possible be shut down for a interval and have to construct again up earlier than rejoining Atlanta’s rotation.
This was one other huge blow for the 0-4 Braves, who additionally discovered Monday that left fielder Jurickson Profar acquired an 80-game suspension for utilizing a performance-enhancing drug, in violation of Main League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Therapy Program.
López’s first pitch of the season was a 92.7 mph fastball that San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. drilled over the fence on Friday. López’s velocity returned to regular over the rest of his five-inning effort. His four-seamer averaged 95.6 mph, which was really 0.1 mph increased than his 2024 common. He surrendered simply two extra runs — one that might have been prevented had Ozzie Albies made a stronger throw on a double-play alternative.
However there was nonetheless concern after López induced simply three whiffs. He prompted at the least seven whiffs in every of his begins final yr, minus the Sept. 10 outing he exited after one inning due to shoulder discomfort.
López made a profitable conversion from reliever to starter final yr. Together with gaining his first All-Star choice, he posted a 1.99 ERA over 26 appearances (25 begins). However his shoulder prevented him from ending the season robust.
