On Tuesday at Truist Park, Braves pitcher Reynaldo López grabbed his red glove and headed out to the field. He played catch – confirmation that his injured-list placement should not make anyone more concerned about him.
Perhaps his time on the injured list – and the rest he gains because of it – will be a positive.
“Well, hopefully we can get him to the end of it, and he’s ready to go,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I think it can be, with him coming back to (starting). I hated that he experienced what he did because we hated losing him, but I think probably in the long run, it could be something that ends up being a good thing for him.”
There it is, right from Snitker: The Braves hope López is ready to return sometime near Aug. 17, which is the date he’s eligible to do so.
This, of course, is an important storyline surrounding the Braves in the season’s final two months. López is one of the Braves’ top starting pitchers, along with Max Fried and Chris Sale.
Fried looked rusty Sunday in his return from the injured list. Sale has been terrific this season.
The Braves had hoped López could pitch for them without a stint on the injured list. On Monday, they finally placed him on the IL.
“We were just waiting to see, kind of stretching it out as long as we could to see how he responded,” Snitker said. “It got to a point where you wait so long and then he’s gonna need to have some time to get ramped back up.”
The future of the leadoff spot
Michael Harris II hit leadoff 12 times before suffering a left hamstring strain in the middle of June. On Tuesday, he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett and went 1-for-4 with a walk.
Who will bat leadoff once Harris returns?
It’ll be (Jorge) Soler, Snitker said.
“(Harris is) gonna miss so much time, we’ll probably just put him in the middle somewhere and see what it looks like,” Snitker said.
He then added:
“I’m hoping Soler goes off and makes it a really good choice.”
Before the injury, Harris was batting .250 with a .653 OPS. His return should give the Braves’ offense a bit of a boost, if only because it means they’ll have one of their regulars back.
OutKast fever
The Braves on Tuesday held OutKast Night at the ballpark.
At around 2:30 p.m. – almost five hours before first pitch – a few fans were already starting to gather outside the third base gate.
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