After testing their rotation depth with injuries in Spring Training, the Braves now find themselves in a position to have enough arms to allow themselves to sing with five starters. With Spencer Strider near return to circulation, Reynaldo Lopez is being taken to the bullpen, as manager Walt Weiss told reporters (including Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) on Sunday.
Lopez’s last start saw him fail to make it out of the second inning, as he allowed four earned runs over an inning and two hits in the Braves’ 11-4 loss to the Nationals last Tuesday. After that tough outing, the decision was made to give Lopez some time “fix some things” as a form of release, as Weiss says.
Lopez says “you work on certain things, delivery wise, that kind of thing, and you get there,” Weiss said.And if he’s right, he’s one of our best starters. He was our No. 2 coming out of camp, even with some of the issues he had at the end of Spring Training. We see him as a long-term starter, but right now…he’s going to help us get us out of the bullpen in the short term..”
The situation is tense, as Weiss admits that “is the thread to the thread that is currently being rotated.” Martin Perez, JR Ritchieagain Bryce Elder are slated to start during the three-game series against the Tigers that begins Tuesday. Grant Holmes will probably go on Friday against the Rockies again Chris Sale will start on Saturday or Sunday, depending on Strider’s readiness.
Strider has been on the 15-day disabled list all season recovering from the concussion, but he threw 82 pitches in his third start today. Assuming there are no obstacles, Strider should be able to throw in between those two games next weekend in Denver.
Pretty much everything was pressing for an Atlanta team with a better record of 20-9. The offense, bullpen, and starting rotation have all been up, even if the rotation’s 3.12 ERA is dwarfed by some of the shakier secondary metrics. Although it remains to be seen how long the starters can last or how much of a leash the Braves might give a rookie like Ritchie or a veteran like Perez (who has already been released and then re-signed to a new major league deal, and re-elected to the active roster).
This leaves Lopez as an overmatched arm, although Lopez’s 3.74 ERA is decent and he does a good job of limiting hard contact. The righty’s 21.1% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate are both below average, however, and his average four-seamer velocity is 93.9mph — well below the 95.5mph Lopez averaged in 2024.
That outstanding 2024 campaign saw Lopez post a 1.99 ERA over 135 2/3 innings, as Atlanta’s decision to move Lopez back into the starting role paid big dividends. The end of that breakout year saw Lopez hampered by arm and shoulder issues, which proved to be a harbinger of a 2025 season that saw Lopez start in earnest. The right-hander had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder following his solo outing, and his rehabilitation was put on hold late in the year as Lopez did not have enough time to rebuild his arm to return to a starter’s role.
It’s no surprise that Lopez needs to shake off the rust after a long layoff, even if he looked great in his first start of the year. Having Lopez available out of the pen to throw more innings gives the Braves some cover if any of their starters are chased early, and the lower-level work will allow Lopez to work out his mechanical issues.
