The Braves introduced Wednesday that they’ve positioned right-hander Reynaldo Lopez on the 15-day injured record as a result of 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 just lately acquired infielder Cavan Biggio from Gwinnett and optioned fellow infielder Luke Williams to Triple-A in his place. With the intention 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 presently 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’ harm, 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 crew’s depth and the manufacturing of that patchwork set of replacements. The rotation presently options Chris Sale, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and stable rookie Spencer Schwellenbach. When Lopez’s flip subsequent arises, the Braves will possible flip to one in all Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, Allan Winans, Hurston Waldrep or Ian Anderson to step into his spot.
Whereas practically all of these in-house choices have both already had previous MLB success (Anderson, Elder specifically) or has been a top-tier prospect (Waldrep, Smith-Shawver), it’s not life like to anticipate any of the bunch to supply on the similar stage as Lopez, even over a brief interval.
Lopez’s transfer from reliever to starter this season caught the complete business without warning, however much more exceptional than the change itself has been how properly it’s paid off. The best-hander made the All-Star crew and deservingly so, as he’s pitched to an excellent 2.03 ERA on the season, putting out 26.3% of his opponents towards an 8.1% stroll price. 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 probably be his third crew 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 price. 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 finest earlier in his profession. Biggio’s contact expertise and energy output have eroded over time, and this season’s 81.9 mph common exit velocity and 16.2% hard-hit price are each the worst amongst all MLB hitters with a minimum of 200 plate appearances.
The Braves will probably be hoping for a minimum of some semblance of a rebound. It’s not life like 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 a minimum of have the ability to get on base at a good clip close to the underside of the reworked lineup.
With the intention to get Biggio onto the roster, the Braves will half methods with the veteran Herget, who’d been pitching with Gwinnett just lately. 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 12 months. Herget has been an up-and-down member of the bullpen with the Braves, Angels and Rangers in recent times however has usually 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 towards a 7.4% stroll price.
Herget will probably be out of choices subsequent season and would’ve been arbitration-eligible this winter. If one other membership picks him up, he could be managed for 3 extra seasons, however he received’t be optionable subsequent 12 months and must clear waivers earlier than any crew might assign him to the minor leagues.
