Braves send 2023 All-Star Elder to minors, Lopez earns spot
The Atlanta Braves optioned All-Star pitcher Bryce Elder to the minors on Monday, deciding to open the season with Reynaldo López as their fifth starter.
López, who signed a $30 million, three-year deal with the Braves in November, earned the rotation spot by permitting simply 4 earned runs over 16 2/3 innings in 5 spring appearances. He surrendered 10 hits, walked six and struck out 13.
Elder, by comparability, gave up 11 earned runs and 15 hits in 12 innings protecting 4 appearances for an 8.25 ERA.
Elder additionally started final season at Triple-A Gwinnett, however was recalled early within the yr and earned his first All-Star Game choice by going 7-2 with a 2.97 ERA forward of the break.
But the 24-year-old right-hander pale over the second half of the season, seeming to tire as he labored a career-high 174 2/3 innings. He completed 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA and was hit onerous in Game 3 of the NL Division Series, giving up six runs — together with two homers — in simply 2 2/3 innings towards the Phillies.
For López, this marks a return to a beginning function after he was used solely as a reliever for the final two seasons by the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Cleveland Indians. He thrived out of the bullpen, posting a 3.02 ERA with 146 strikeouts in 131 1/3 innings over 129 appearances.
But the Braves signed López early in free company with a watch towards utilizing the hard-throwing right-hander as a starter once more. He made a complete of 65 begins for the White Sox over the 2018 and ’19 seasons, going 17-22 with a 4.64 ERA.
López joins a rotation that additionally consists of All-Star Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and one other newcomer, Chris Sale.
Elder will seemingly be again within the large leagues in some unspecified time in the future this season. The Braves, who had been ravaged by accidents to their beginning workers in 2023, are anticipated to make use of greater than 5 starters as they fight to verify everyone seems to be wholesome on the finish of the season. Sale, particularly, will likely be handled with warning as he comes again from a number of accidents.
It additionally made sense for the Braves to make use of López as a starter early within the season, even when he winds up returning to the bullpen. If he started as a reliever, it might have been tough to stretch out his arm later within the yr for a beginning function.
Elder — together with high prospects AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep — will begin the yr within the minors however be able to step up when the Braves want a spot starter or resolve to bulk up an already deep bullpen by shifting López’s function.
Also Monday, the Braves optioned one other rotation possibility, right-hander Huascar Ynoa, to Gwinnett. Ynoa missed all of final season recovering from Tommy John surgical procedure and made just one official look at spring coaching, working a scoreless inning.
Atlanta, which has gained six straight NL East titles, opens the season on March 28 at Philadelphia.
