The Atlanta Braves placed Pitcher Reynaldo Lopez on the 15-day injured list earlier on Monday. He has been dealing with forearm inflation on his pitching arm. Lopez has had a great year for Atlanta with 104 innings pitched and a 2.06 ERA. He made his first MLB all-star team last month. The 2024 Braves continue to get ravaged by injuries to star players like Lopez, Ronald Acuna, and Ozzie Albies.
Lopez was scheduled to start against the Miami Marlins over the weekend but was scratched from his start with his forearm acting up. Atlanta has been holding on to a wild card spot for dear life since mid-July. Losing Lopez at this critical time in the season will loom large. How will the Atlanta Braves fare in his absence?
Reynaldo Lopez Placed on Injured List
Losing Reynaldo Lopez for at least the next two weeks is devastating for the Atlanta Braves. Behind Chris Sale, Lopez has been the second-most consistent starting pitcher for Atlanta’s rotation this season. The Braves got star pitcher Max Fried back from injury a day ago. It was looking like they would finally have their full arsenal intact for the home stretch. That will not be the case.
Lopez missed his weekend start because of the forearm and was considered “day to day.” It’s clear Lopez is going to need some time to get his arm right so they put him on the IL and called up right-handed pitcher Bryce Elder from Triple-A. Elder has made nine starts for the Atlanta Braves this season and has gotten bounced around. It is a major drop-off from Lopez to Elder.
Atlanta Braves Rotation Must Pick Up Lopez
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Luckily for the Atlanta Braves, they have one of the best starting pitching rotations across all of baseball. They are led by the 2024 National League Cy Young favorite Chris Sale. Sale has been lights out all year. In 20 starts, Sale has racked up 123 innings pitched, with a 2.71 ERA, and a record of 13-3.
To go along with Sale, they have Max Fried. Fried, a two-time all-star, has had another very good all-star caliber season with a 3.40 ERA across 19 starts. Heading into the season, Fried was considered the ace of the staff. The Braves also have leaned on veteran Charlie Morton, who even at 40 years old has started 20 games and a 3.94 ERA.
The Atlanta Braves are currently six games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. It will be a tall task to catch Philly, but Atlanta can still feel confident about getting one of the three wild card spots. They are at the top of the Wild Card standings by half a game. They just need to tread water until they get Reynaldo Lopez back for the home stretch to make their pennant run.
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