Reynaldo López Takes Another Step Closer to Braves Return

The Atlanta Braves have a rotation arm closing in on a return in the wake of some unfortunate injury updates

Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López got another start under his belt | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Reynaldo López turned to the mound for Triple-A Gwinnett as he got one step closer to returning to the Atlanta Braves pitching staff. He tossed another five innings on Friday and stretched out his pitch count to 70 pitches.

En route, he allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out two. If there is an upside, he didn't walk anybody. He was heavy on the fastball, with 56% of his pitches being the heater. It drew zero whiffs, but it got seven called strikes. The only other pitch thrown at least 10 times was the slider.

López is in the home stretch of returning from a left knee injury. It'll be up to the Braves to decide what they want to do next, but the logic could go either way.

If he gets another rehab start, it would track, because his pitch count isn't at what most would call a starter's workload. If he could get to 80 to 85 pitches, then he would be in a much better position to help the team. With how his recent start went, it may also be beneficial

On the flip side, with a month left to go, the Braves may want to get him back into the fray as soon as possible. If they're comfortable having him be in the bullpen as a long reliever instead of a rotation arm, he's already a good-enough pitch count.

He's taken on both roles this season. The Braves have to decide which role makes the most sense for him going forward.

Having him back comes as some other pitchers were officially ruled to be down for the count. Hurston Waldrep is set to undergo Tommy John surgery and Spencer Schwellenbach will have a procedure to address an elbow fracture.

Spencer Strider may have a chance to be back, but don't count on it.

Currently, the starting pitching options are Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, Martín Pérez and AJ Smith-Shawver.

Add us as a preferred source on Google