The Braves may be on the verge of a bullpen shuffle, and Reynaldo López is right in the middle of it.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jesús Cano of The Athletic reported that López threw a bullpen session and that, once he’s back, Atlanta could use him either as a starter or in relief. That gives the Braves another moving piece at a time when their pitching staff already has several arms working their way back into the picture.
Walt Weiss had already offered updates earlier this week on Spencer Strider and Hurston Waldrep, adding to the sense that the rotation and bullpen could soon look very different than they do now. López is the first of those returning pitchers who appears close to an immediate return, and his role may depend less on what he wants to do and more on what Atlanta needs most at the time.
The current rotation has held together reasonably well with Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, and Martin Perez doing most of the work lately. But AJ Smith-Shawver made a strong impression in his latest rehab start with Gwinnett on Tuesday, which only adds to the uncertainty about how Atlanta sorts out the next wave of arms.
That leaves the Braves with a tricky but welcome problem. López or Holmes could be the most natural candidates to slide into the bullpen, but beyond Danny Young, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious roster move waiting to happen. For now, Atlanta has a cluster of pitchers who need innings and a chance to prove they belong on the postseason roster.
There may not be enough time left in the season for the Braves to fully sort out every option. Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Shawver both bring enough upside that leaving them out of a postseason rotation would be tough. But if they can’t show they can carry their stuff deep into games, the bullpen starts to make more sense as their landing spot.
For now, Weiss is left to handle the roster one day at a time. Some pitchers will pitch their way into trusted roles.
Others will pitch themselves out of the conversation entirely. Over the final month-plus, the Braves should get a much clearer picture of where each arm fits.
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