Braves optimistic about Reynaldo López after injury

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

But maybe more importantly, Wednesday’s clean MRI indicated he’ll be good to go at the start of next year, when his body is physically prepared to attempt to make 30-plus regular-season starts.

Let’s get this out of the way. I have no problem with the way the Braves handled López’s first season as a starting pitcher since 2021. Who knew Spencer Strider was going to make just one healthy start before undergoing season-ending right elbow surgery? Once he went down, there was an even greater need to have López in the rotation.

And as for López remaining in the rotation, it’s recommended to stick with any starter who remains healthy while producing a sub-2.00 ERA through the season’s first few months.

Coming out of Spring Training, my expectation was that López would spend a few months as a starter and then move back to the relief role he thrived in the previous two seasons. The hope would have been that he’d compile enough innings this year to provide him a chance to throw closer to 150-plus innings next year.

But even though López missed three weeks in August with right forearm stiffness and even though he could miss the regular season’s final few weeks with right shoulder inflammation, the way it played out was probably more beneficial from both an immediate and long-term perspective.

That three-week IL stint in August seemed to be a well-timed break. This latest shoulder ailment is just a reminder of how challenging it is for a starting pitcher to remain healthy throughout an entire season — especially a pitcher whose innings totals over the previous three years were 96 2/3 (Triple-A and MLB combined), 65 1/3 and 66.

López made just five starts this year on regular rest. Three of those instances occurred within his final four starts. Did this cause the inflammation? Maybe. But it’s not like the Braves had any other choice but to turn their starters loose last month by stopping the practice of attempting to create extra rest whenever possible.

Think about this. The Braves rank fourth in the Majors in both starting pitchers’ ERA (3.70) and innings pitched (812 1/3). Their rotation has tallied 870 strikeouts, almost 70 more than any other club entering Friday. Did we mention Strider was lost during the season’s first full week?

The Braves have done this with López, Chris Sale — who totaled 151 innings over the past four years — Charlie Morton, Spencer Schwellenbach — who is experiencing his first full unrestricted season as a starter since high school — and Max Fried.

It’s quite remarkable that the Braves stand where they do. The current focus will remain on this rotation doing whatever it can to compensate for a consistently unproductive offense and help the team reach the postseason.

But it’s also important to note how much better the Braves should currently feel about their future rotations.

Even if Fried exits via free agency and Morton retires, the Braves still have Sale, López, Schwellenbach and Strider (at some point next season) to serve as the base for their rotation. Ian Anderson will also be further removed from Tommy John surgery. And both Hurston Waldrep (No. 3 prospect) and AJ Smith-Shawver (No. 2 prospect) will be that much closer to possibly sticking within a big league rotation.

The optimism regarding future rotations would have faded had López received bad news this week.

López has thrown 128 2/3 innings this year. There’s a chance he could add to that total. He is eligible to be activated from the injured list on Sept. 26, which just happens to be the date the Braves will play their final game against the Mets this year. Imagine the drama surrounding that potential return.

But regardless of what happens this year, it is encouraging to think about what López will be physically capable of providing over the final two years of his contract. He drew a $4 million salary this year. He’ll come at a bargain cost of approximately $13 million per year the next two seasons.