ATLANTA -- Reynaldo López is still expected to miss most, if not all of the remainder of this season. But the Braves' right-handed starter received good news on Tuesday, when an arthroscopic surgical procedure found no structural damage in his right shoulder.
※If everything goes right, I think we can expect to see him back before the year is over,§ Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
L車pez will rest over the next 12 weeks and then be re-evaluated around the All-Star break. Even if he is immediately cleared to start throwing, he would essentially be at the same point he would be when beginning his normal preseason preparations in December or January.
How long it would take L車pez to be deemed ready would be influenced by whether the Braves plan to use him as a reliever or starter. Regardless, expectations of him pitching before September might be optimistic.
The Braves restructured L車pez＊s contract to help lower their luxury tax payroll figure for this current season. So, the 31-year-old hurler is in the first year of a three-year, $30 million contract.
L車pez earned his first career All-Star selection after being converted from reliever to starter last year. He posted a 1.99 ERA over 135 2/3 innings, but spent time on the injured list in both August and September. The workload may have been an issue. He worked 66 innings in 2023 and 65 1/3 innings in 2022.
L車pez struggled to find comfort during Spring Training and his first pitch of the season was a 92.7 mph fastball that Fernando Tatis Jr. hit over Petco Park＊s outfield wall. His velocity returned to normal over the remainder of that five-inning effort, but he asked to be evaluated after a side session two days later. Imaging showed nothing more than inflammation. This led to the decision to take a closer look via the arthroscopic procedure.