Initially, it appeared the Braves believed Reynaldo López could start for them at some point in the week after he received a clean MRI on his right forearm on the night of July 28.
But he still hasn’t pitched for them since then.
And on Monday, the Braves placed López on the 15-day injured list, backdated to Aug. 2, with right forearm inflammation.
López is doing well, but the Braves decided the best plan was to give him more time. He won’t be eligible to return until Aug. 17.
Atlanta recalled Bryce Elder to take López’s roster spot. Elder will start Tuesday’s series opener against the Brewers at Truist Park. Chris Sale will pitch on Wednesday and Charlie Morton will start Thursday’s series finale.
On July 28 in New York against the Mets, López departed his start after three scoreless innings because of right forearm tightness. His MRI, done that night, came back clean — a huge relief for a Braves team that has suffered through horrible injury luck this season.
When manager Brian Snitker and president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos addressed the media in the days after that MRI, they sounded somewhat encouraged that López would be fine. The team went a week without placing him on the injured list.
But during the Marlins series, Snitker said López hadn’t yet thrown a bullpen session. That seemed like a clear indicator that he wasn’t particularly close to starting a game, and that he would likely land on the injured list.
The Braves brought up Elder, which means Dylan Lee — optioned to reinstate Max Fried from the injured list — is still in the minors. The Braves could find a way to get Lee back onto the roster in the coming days, but they can only do so by placing someone on the injured list because Lee hasn’t yet spent 15 days in the minors after being optioned.
When he exited the start against the Mets, López had a 2.06 ERA — the best mark among qualified starters in baseball. He’s logged 104-2/3 innings, which are more than the 66 frames he threw last season.
