López to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery; return timeline TBD

LOS ANGELES -- The Braves are hoping Reynaldo López will pitch again this year. But they won’t know until he undergoes arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder next week.

“They want to go in there and make sure nothing is going on,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ll know more after he gets that done and they get a treatment plan.”

Even if no significant structural damage is found, López will likely be sidelined through at least the season’s first half. But there’s certainly a chance he will miss the first year of the restructured three-year, $30 million deal he signed in November.

Imaging has shown nothing more than inflammation. But the veteran pitcher’s shoulder bothered him at the end of last year and now at the start of this season. So, there’s reason to expect surgeons will at least need to do a cleanup that would include the removal of damaged tissue or foreign particles.

López was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation on Monday. Bryce Elder was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill López’s roster spot. Elder also made López’s scheduled start against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

“[López] threw a side [Sunday] and it went good, but he went in after the side and wanted to have his shoulder checked,” Snitker said. “There’s obviously some inflammation in there. We’re getting him looked at today. I haven’t heard the results yet.”

López was on the injured list in both August and September because of right shoulder discomfort.

This was another big blow for the 0-5 Braves, who also learned Monday that left fielder Jurickson Profar received an 80-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment 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 normal over the remainder of his five-inning effort. His four-seamer averaged 95.6 mph, which was actually 0.1 mph higher than his 2024 average. He surrendered just two more runs -- one that could have been prevented had Ozzie Albies made a stronger throw on a double-play opportunity.

But there was still concern after López induced just three whiffs. He prompted at least seven whiffs in each of his starts last year, minus the Sept. 10 outing he exited after one inning because of shoulder discomfort.

López made a successful conversion from reliever to starter last year. Along with gaining his first All-Star selection, he posted a 1.99 ERA over 135 2/3 innings last year. But he may have been affected by the increased workload. He didn’t throw more than 66 innings while working as a reliever in 2022 and ’23.