NORTH PORT, Fla. — Whether it’s Reynaldo Lopez or Bryce Elder, there aren’t many teams deciding between such qualified candidates for their last rotation spot.
The Braves will use both pitchers plenty throughout the season, but what a luxury that one of the few debates in camp is which righty – one an accomplished veteran, the other an All-Star last summer – will open the campaign in the rotation.
“We’re just going to keep running them out there and see,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ll evaluate in a couple weeks at the end of camp and see what makes our club the best going forward to start out. We have to start somewhere.”
The Braves deployed Elder and Lopez in Fort Myers against the Red Sox on Thursday. Elder started, going 3-1/3 innings and allowing one run – a homer to Masataka Yoshida – on two hits. He struck out six and walked two in a 3-2 win.
“I think it’s good for me (to compete for a spot) honestly,” Elder said. “You’re never going to have a bad offseason. You’re never going to have a bad spring. You know coming into it that you have to do what you have to do to make the team. Sometimes – I don’t know if the word is ‘stressful’ – but you have to go. I think that’s positive to keep you moving forward.”
Ultimately, the decision might come down to roster construction. Elder has an option remaining, meaning the team can stow him at Triple-A Gwinnett as it did a year ago. Elder was Gwinnett’s opening-day starter March 31, yet became an MLB All-Star in July.
“I think I’m always going to try to play the long game regardless of what happens,” Elder said. “At the end of the day, you just have to keep moving forward.”
Lopez, a reliever whom the Braves are stretching out as a starter, could make more sense as the No. 5 starter. He also pitched Thursday, notching three scoreless frames, with four strikeouts against one walk. He has a 1.13 ERA this spring (eight innings), striking out seven and walking two. “That was really good,” Snitker said. “The whole package, really.”
The team could carry Lopez as a starter to begin the season while Elder prepares in Gwinnett. Otherwise, Lopez would fill a spot in the bullpen, a unit that’s largely set with players who aren’t optionable. If Lopez opens in the rotation, the Braves would, of course, have the option of moving him to the bullpen down the line if they wanted.
When the Braves signed Lopez to a three-year, $30 million deal over the winter, they immediately referenced trying him as a starter. Lopez has made 97 starts in his career, though only one has come over the past two seasons. He has a 4.73 ERA in 515-1/3 innings as a starter, but Lopez feels he’s evolved since his last stint in a rotation.
“It’s an opportunity, and I’m just trying to be the one they’re looking for the fifth (starter),” Lopez said. “(When you’re) a reliever, you have one inning and you have to focus on every pitch, every hitter. So I’ve thought (previously) if I can think that way, in a couple years, it’ll be different (if I’m a starter again). Now it’s more like, as a starter, every pitch matters. I focus on throwing the first-pitch strike. I use my breaking pitch. This is a great opportunity to me. I’m way different than I was in 2019, 2020.”
The Braves’ top four in the rotation are set, and there aren’t many teams who can match the quartet of Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Chris Sale and Charlie Morton. Beyond Lopez and Elder, the team also has top prospect AJ Smith-Shawver as additional starter depth, with prospect Hurston Waldrep progressing and potentially an option later this season.
Huascar Ynoa, returning from Tommy John surgery, was stalled by elbow soreness in camp. The team has Darius Vines and Allan Winans as further depth. But the Braves might not possess as much major league-ready starter depth as they have sometimes in the past.
