After the shocking Jurickson Profar suspension hit earlier in the day, the hits kept coming — and not the kind Atlanta’s offense has been missing. Just hours later, the Braves announced that Reynaldo López has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, backdated to March 29.
Another Blow to the Braves’ Rotation
This is a tough one. López was the guy who got the nod in Game 2 of the season in San Diego. While the outing wasn’t a total disaster, something felt off.
He gave up a first-pitch homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. and struggled with his command early. Despite a brief uptick in velocity, he managed just three whiffs across five innings. It’s not exactly the kind of outing that screams “healthy and locked in.”
López dealt with the same shoulder issue last September; for pitchers, shoulder problems can be even scarier than elbow ones. With the Braves already dealing with injury uncertainty, the last thing they needed was a rotation question mark this early.
Bryce Elder Steps In
In López’s place, the Braves have called up Bryce Elder, the reliable but unremarkable depth arm we’ve seen plenty of over the past couple of seasons. He’s slated to start Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and while that’s no easy assignment, Elder’s job is simple: keep the Braves in the game.
Last season, Elder posted a 6.52 ERA across 10 starts, and his 4.56 FIP suggested that things weren’t much better under the hood. But if he can eat innings and give Atlanta a chance to breathe, that’s all the Braves need right now while they wait for Spencer Strider — or a healthier version of López — to return.
A Nightmare Start to 2025
Let’s take stock for a moment. The Braves are winless. Their bullpen has been inconsistent. Their offense has gone 22+ innings without scoring. Plus, their big offseason outfield addition is suspended for PEDs. And now, the rotation just took another hit.
And yet, as bleak as it all looks, we’re still just five games in. Even a depleted roster still has too much talent to spiral permanently. But they’ll need guys like Elder, Fairchild, and Kelenic to hold the line. That’s a lot to ask, but the early part of the season is now officially about survival mode.
The Dodgers series was already looming large. Now, it’s an early gut check for a Braves team expected to be contending, not scrambling, in the first week of April.
