Reynaldo López injury update: Braves starter's MRI comes back clean after leaving game with forearm tightness
Manager Brian Snitker said López will not be placed on the IL
by Mike Axisa · CBS SportsThe Atlanta Braves appear to have avoided losing another starter to injury. An MRI on right-hander Reynaldo López's forearm came back clean and he is not being placed on the injured list, manager Brian Snitker said Monday (via the Atlanta Journal Constitution). It's possible López will make his next start and not even he shut down.
López exited Sunday's start against the New York Mets (ATL 9, NYM 2) after three innings and 57 pitches with forearm tightness, the team announced. The Braves said López was removed as a precaution and called him day-to-day.
Forearm tightness is a common symptom of elbow ligament trouble and a precursor to Tommy John surgery, though not always. Atlanta signed López, who spent 2021-23 as a reliever, this past offseason and put him in the rotation. His 104 2/3 innings this year are well above last year's 66 innings, and his most since throwing 184 innings in 2019, his last 162-game season as a starter.
Reynaldo Lopez
ATL • SP • #40
ERA: 2.06
WHIP: 1.19
IP: 104.2
BB: 37
K: 102
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López's move back into the rotation has been a smashing success. The 30-year-old has a 2.06 ERA in those 104 2/3 innings, which earned him his first career All-Star Game selection. That said, the Braves are already pushing the limits of their pitching depth, and losing López for any length of time would have been a devastating blow.
The club's rotation depth chart looks like this at the moment:
RHP Spencer Strider(out for 2024 with elbow surgery)LHP Max Fried(out with forearm neuritis)- LHP Chris Sale
- RHP Charlie Morton
- RHP Reynaldo López (day-to-day with forearm tightness)
RHP Hurston Waldrep(out with elbow inflammation)- RHP Spencer Schwellenbach
- RHP Bryce Elder
- RHP AJ Smith-Shawver
- RHP Allan Winans
The Braves expect Fried back fairly quickly, though he can not be activated off the injured list for another week, so they will need to come up with a spot starter in the meantime. Journeyman Grant Holmes will make his first career start Monday. He's been working as a long reliever the last few weeks.
Atlanta entered play Monday with a 56-48 record and a two-game lead on a wild-card spot. They are 36-39 since May 3. In addition to Fried and Strider, the Braves are also without Ozzie Albies and reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. Albies will miss eight weeks with a broken wrist and Acuña is done for the season with a torn ACL.