López flashes rotation's potential, dominates former team

CHICAGO -- Reynaldo López entered free agency with one goal in mind: to become a starter in the Majors again. After he signed a three-year deal with the Braves this offseason, that became a reality.

López made his first start of the season on Tuesday evening and showed why he earned that No. 5 spot in Atlanta’s rotation out of Spring Training. The right-hander delivered six strong innings of one-run baseball. But it wasn’t enough, as the Braves fell to the White Sox in a 3-2 loss at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“Before we even signed the contract, the conversation was always based around being a starter,” López said through an interpreter. “So, as soon as that was finalized, my mentality has been that the whole time where I was going to be a starter, and I was able to focus on that in Spring Training, sort of adjust my mentality, and I feel like we're sort of seeing the result of that.”

López felt all types of emotions heading into this game, as he was set to make his first start since June 10, 2022, when he was an opener. The 30-year-old was also lined up to face the White Sox, his former team -- an organization he spent 6 1/2 years with from 2017 to 2023.

However, those emotions surely didn’t affect his outing. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the fourth inning with one out. That paved the way for a dominant start from the right-hander.

López gave up just one run on four hits with two walks to go with five strikeouts across six impressive frames.

“It’s good to just get a first start out of the way after he hadn’t been out there in that starting role for a couple of years,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “But man, he was efficient throwing strikes. His stuff was really live, and he did a great job.”

"I think I went out focused. I would say the most important thing, I just went out and just tried to do my job,” López said. “This start meant a lot to me. Going three years without a start in the big leagues, I think as far as the confidence, it definitely felt like it helped my confidence increase."

This type of outing from López is exactly why the Braves signed the right-hander to a multi-year deal this offseason. They saw the potential in him as a starter, and he showed that right away in his first outing.

“He’s a young guy,” Marcell Ozuna said after hitting two home runs in the contest. “He went to the Futures Game in 2016. He’s good. Right now, I expect [him to have] a good season.”

Despite making his first start in quite some time, López does have plenty of experience as a starter. He started 65 combined games for the White Sox in 2018 and 2019 before transitioning to the bullpen in 2021.

There were some mixed results from the right-hander in those two seasons, including a 5.38 ERA during the 2019 season. But he posted solid numbers in 2018 and finished with a 3.91 ERA and 19 quality starts across 32 appearances. Atlanta is confident he can post similar numbers to the latter in 2024.

“Fastball was playing really good, breaking stuff,” Snitker said. “Everything [was] really, really nice. I feel really good about what I saw right there. So, that's really encouraging.”

He mostly leaned on his fastball while mixing in his offspeed pitches (slider, curveball, and changeup) to total 20 called strikes and whiffs. Most importantly, though, he showed what type of pitcher he can be for this rotation.

With Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Chris Sale, and Charlie Morton locked into the top four spots, López could be a huge difference-maker for the back end of Atlanta’s staff. In what is already a top rotation in baseball, the 30-year-old showed Tuesday that this unit could reach new heights in 2024.

“I think it's really good,” López said about the rotation. “I think we're efficient. The way they go out and compete, the way they throw, I think this year's going to be a lot of fun.”