The Braves made one move for the outfield yesterday, landing Lane Thomas from the Royals. But the real pressure point in Atlanta right now is still the rotation, and the latest news only sharpens that focus.
Right-hander Reynaldo López was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with left knee inflammation, retroactive to July 30. The team had already scratched him from Wednesday’s start after he felt the issue during pregame warmups, and Martín Pérez stepped in to throw seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
López underwent an MRI after being scratched, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported the results still weren’t known. More details on the injury and the recovery outlook should come in the next few days.
The Braves recalled JR Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Thursday’s game against the Nationals, and the depth chart behind Chris Sale suddenly looks thinner. López had spent late April through late June in the bullpen before moving back into the rotation for six starts since June 26.
In those 28 innings, he put up a 3.86 ERA with solid strikeout and walk numbers. Add in his relief work, and he’s at a 3.64 ERA with a 21.6% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate over 71 2/3 innings this season.
That’s not the runaway production he delivered in 2024, when he posted a 1.99 ERA in 135 2/3 innings, but it still plays as quality back-end starting work.
Now Atlanta’s group behind Sale is Bryce Elder, Pérez, and Ritchie, with Grant Holmes also in the mix. Sale keeps doing what Sale does, carrying a 2.08 ERA that ranks second in the National League behind the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski.
Holmes, Elder, and Pérez all have ERAs under 4.00 in at least 90 innings, but none of them brings overpowering swing-and-miss stuff. Holmes in particular has seen his strikeout rate dip from 25.0% last year to 19.6% in 2026, while he and Elder have also been living with some home run trouble and benefiting from low batting averages on balls in play.
That’s why López’s injury matters beyond the immediate start he missed. He wasn’t going to solve Atlanta’s biggest postseason question by himself, but losing him does chip away at the margin for error and could make the club more aggressive in the market before tomorrow’s 5 p.m.
Central deadline. Ritchie, the No. 35 overall pick in the 2022 draft, has had mixed results in his first big league season.
Bailey Falter, who came over from the Royals with Thomas, has a 3.35 ERA at Triple-A this year, but his major league work has been limited because of left elbow inflammation and an outright in June. He looks more like a depth piece than a needle-mover.
Spencer Strider is the other big reason the Braves’ rotation picture feels unsettled. If healthy, he might have fit behind Sale in a playoff series, but Bowman reported he is unlikely to return this season and that his locker was cleared out during the Braves’ last homestand. Bowman also said right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach could return in September, while Hurston Waldrep is seeking a second opinion after leaving a Triple-A start a couple weeks ago with right arm discomfort.
Strider landed on the injured list June 13 with right elbow inflammation and was moved to the 60-day IL four days later. He was cleared of ligament damage and avoided surgery, but he still hasn’t started a rehab assignment, despite an initial four-week timetable for resuming throwing.
Before the injury, he struggled through eight starts, putting up a 5.31 ERA in 39 innings while walking 12.1% of hitters, well above his norm. With him possibly done for the year, the Braves may have even more reason to push harder for a starter such as Casey Mize or Freddy Peralta, both of whom they’ve recently been linked to.
There was better news on the position-player side. Bowman reported that infielder Ha-Seong Kim has finished his rehab assignment with Gwinnett and is expected to be activated soon. Jim Jarvis, who handled shortstop duties during Kim’s latest IL stint, will stay in that role for now, which points Kim toward a backup infield job.
Kim signed a one-year, $20 million deal with Atlanta this offseason, but his season has never really gotten rolling. He hurt his hand after slipping on ice a month later and didn’t make his debut until May 12.
In 82 plate appearances, he hit just .068/.171/.068 before going back on the injured list in early July with a right middle finger laceration. Jarvis has taken advantage of the opening, batting .278/.333/.417 with a 107 wRC+ in 81 plate appearances since July 2.
Even so, the Braves are expected to shop for a shortstop at the deadline, which leaves Kim with limited runway to reassert himself before he reaches free agency this offseason.
In Other News...
Royals Deadline Plans Could Reveal Who They Still Trust
The Royals are still sorting through what this stretch means for the rest of the season after a fourth straight loss pushed them 21 games below .500 heading into the trade deadline. Matt Quatraro sounded frustrated with the skid, but the bigger issue for Kansas City is how to navigate a roster hit by injuries to Bobby Witt Jr., Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic while also trying to keep the focus on what comes next. Recent trades involving Lane Thomas and Bailey Falter already signaled that the front office is willing to keep adjusting.
With more deadline movement still possible, Kansas Citys next decisions may say as much about who the club still believes in as about who it is ready to move on from. The Royals have been talking about adding younger players to the mix for the stretch run, which makes the coming days especially revealing because the choices are not just about selling, but about the kind of roster they want to build around the injuries and uncertainty they are dealing with now. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Deadline Approach Around Bobby Witt Jr. Just Got More Complicated
The Royals entered the trade deadline already trying to juggle injuries, roster churn and a club that still sees itself as very much in the race. Matt Quatraro has had to manage the ripple effects of Luinder Avila landing on the injured list while Kyle Isbel works back into the mix, a reminder that Kansas Citys immediate challenge is not just adding talent, but keeping enough of the current group intact to make the push around Bobby Witt Jr.
Even so, the front office has made one thing clear in the days leading up to the deadline: it is not looking at every veteran as a movable piece. The clubs stance on its pitching depth has made the market harder to read, and it leaves the Royals trying to balance present urgency with the longer view of a team that still believes its best stretch may be ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Massey Has Royals Fans Debating His Long Term Role
Michael Massey has given the Royals a useful look in 2026, and its enough to keep the conversation around him going. The second baseman has supplied above-average pop for the position, and a .263/.298/.417 line with a 94 wRC+ suggests a player who can help a lineup in stretches even if the profile is not perfectly polished.
The question for Kansas City is whether that version of Massey can keep holding up over the long run. His low walk rate and high chase rate outside the zone leave plenty of room for pitchers to work him, even as he handles breaking balls well enough to stay dangerous. The bigger concern is how often 4-seam fastballs have given him trouble, since that one hole can shape the way teams decide to use him, and how fans ultimately view his place in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]