The Braves introduced Wednesday that they’ve positioned right-hander Reynaldo Lopez on the 15-day injured checklist resulting from irritation in his proper shoulder. Lopez was pulled from final evening’s begin after a big velocity drop, and supervisor Brian Snitker mentioned after the sport he was headed for an MRI. The outcomes of that imaging haven’t but been revealed, however there’s clearly sufficient concern to close Lopez down for what quantities to the remainder of the common season. In Lopez’s place, Atlanta recalled righty Daysbel Hernandez from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Along with the Lopez transfer, Atlanta shuffled its infield combine. The Braves chosen the contract of not too long ago acquired infielder Cavan Biggio from Gwinnett and optioned fellow infielder Luke Williams to Triple-A in his place. In an effort to open a spot for Biggio on the 40-man roster, right-hander Jimmy Herget has been designated for project.
The lack of Lopez is one more blow to an injury-decimated Braves roster that’s at present with out Spencer Strider (UCL surgical procedure), Ronald Acuna Jr. (torn ACL), Austin Riley (damaged hand), Ozzie Albies (damaged wrist) and A.J. Minter (hip surgical procedure) for the steadiness of the season. Whit Merrifield, whom the Braves signed within the wake of Albies’ damage, wound up sustaining a damaged foot final week and can also be on the shelf.
Atlanta has patched the lineup over with midseason signings/acquisitions of Jorge Soler, Gio Urshela, Ramon Laureano and now Biggio. They’ve managed to remain afloat and in a tightly contested race with the division-rival Mets for the ultimate NL Wild Card spot, however this newest hit will additional check the workforce’s depth and the manufacturing of that patchwork set of replacements. The rotation at present options Chris Sale, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and strong rookie Spencer Schwellenbach. When Lopez’s flip subsequent arises, the Braves will seemingly flip to one among Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, Allan Winans, Hurston Waldrep or Ian Anderson to step into his spot.
Whereas almost all of these in-house choices have both already had previous MLB success (Anderson, Elder particularly) or has been a top-tier prospect (Waldrep, Smith-Shawver), it’s not sensible to anticipate any of the bunch to supply on the identical stage as Lopez, even over a brief interval.
Lopez’s transfer from reliever to starter this season caught your entire business without warning, however much more exceptional than the swap itself has been how nicely it’s paid off. The correct-hander made the All-Star workforce and deservingly so, as he’s pitched to a superb 2.03 ERA on the season, putting out 26.3% of his opponents in opposition to an 8.1% stroll fee. Lopez has solely allowed greater than two earned runs in three of his 24 begins this season, and he’s but to give up greater than 4 runs in any look this season.
As for Biggio, Atlanta will likely be his third workforce this season. He’s suited up for his longtime Blue Jays membership and the Dodgers along with a minor league run with the Giants group. In 74 video games and 219 plate appearances, he’s logged a bleak .197/.316/.306 batting line with an enormous 32% strikeout fee. The second-generation massive leaguer nonetheless attracts loads of walks (11%), however even that’s a departure from the large 16% clip he turned in at his greatest earlier in his profession. Biggio’s contact expertise and energy output have eroded through the years, and this season’s 81.9 mph common exit velocity and 16.2% hard-hit fee are each the worst amongst all MLB hitters with not less than 200 plate appearances.
The Braves will likely be hoping for not less than some semblance of a rebound. It’s not sensible to anticipate Biggio to show the clock again to 2019, when he hit 16 homers and swiped 14 bases in simply 100 video games as a rookie, however he ought to not less than be capable to get on base at an honest clip close to the underside of the reworked lineup.
In an effort to get Biggio onto the roster, the Braves will half methods with the veteran Herget, who’d been pitching with Gwinnett not too long ago. The 31-year-old posted a 4.38 ERA in 12 1/3 innings with Atlanta earlier this season and has a 3.30 ERA in 30 minor league innings between the Braves and Angels organizations this yr. Herget has been an up-and-down member of the bullpen with the Braves, Angels and Rangers lately however has typically been profitable working in largely low-leverage conditions. He has a profession 3.54 ERA in 155 massive league innings and has fanned 22.2% of opponents in opposition to a 7.4% stroll fee.
Herget will likely be out of choices subsequent season and would’ve been arbitration-eligible this winter. If one other membership picks him up, he might be managed for 3 extra seasons, however he received’t be optionable subsequent yr and must clear waivers earlier than any workforce may assign him to the minor leagues.