Braves Must Be Strict with Managing Reynaldo López's Health

Once again, Reynaldo López looked sharp for the Atlanta Braves. In his latest start on Tuesday, he had to battle against the Boston Red Sox in Ft. Myers.

He pitched 3 2/3 innings, with the first three being scoreless. In the fourth, he allowed three earned runs and got through two outs before being lifted. On the plus side of things, he struck out six in his outing, and he was hitting 94 mph on his fastball.

He can handle the pressure of being a starting pitcher. While there are rightfully concerns about whether he could make it back into the rotation, his performance gives the Braves all the reason to give him another shot.

However, the ball is in their court to ensure he can stay healthy and available every five or six days.

Normally, I'm someone who likes to get the most innings out of a starter as possible. The core of a championship team is the rotation, and the more you can get out of them, the better off a team is. In this case, to get the most out of López, it will require the Braves to go the opposite way.

They need to be strict with pitch counts and innings limits in games. Have a long reliever ready to go to help take pressure off the bullpen. Keeping him healthy is how you get more out of him overall on the season. He may have had that desire in the past to hit the 200-inning mark.

That's just not an option. Do what has to be done to get 140 innings and about 30 starts out of him. If he completes five innings, then good enough. The pitch count doesn't matter. If he is at 90 pitches through four innings. Oh, well. His day is done.

From time to time, push his start back a day. The extra day of rest could go a long way. The alternative is pushing him, and his shoulder or forearm has trouble again. Then, they're scrambling to figure out a replacement for, at a minimum, two or three starts. A game here and there made a huge difference in the Braves' playoff hopes in the long run.

There has to be a strict mindset here. There is little room for error. Three options for the rotation have already gone down since pitchers and catchers reported about five weeks ago.

This doesn't even include options such as AJ Smith-Shawver, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. The other healthy arms in the rotation have injury histories, too. The more diligent they are, the better off the Braves will be.

The Braves fell to the Red Sox 4-3 on Tuesday. They'll host the Phillies in North Port on Wednesday. Martin Perez is on the mound to start. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. EDT.

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