Braves Offseason Addition Providing ‘Best Value’ in Baseball, per National MLB Writer

When the Atlanta Braves decide to go out on the free-agent market, they sure can find some good value

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez has the lowest ERA of any starter pitcher with three or more starts in baseball / Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves don’t tend to go out in free agency for roster upgrades very often. But when they do, they seemingly do a pretty good job of getting both impact and value. 

Two of the most prominent free agents under Alex Anthopoulos have been designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and starting pitcher Charlie Morton, who have both re-signed with the team after the initial deals and are now tenured veterans that have led the team for stretches. 

And national baseball writer Ken Rosenthal, writing in The Athletic, has identified one of Atlanta’s offseason signees as the single best free agent value of the offseason: Starting pitcher Reynaldo López. 

Rosenthal lists five signees, agreeing with a reader suggestion that López deserves to be at the top of the list because of his 0.72 ERA across his first four starts as compared to the three years for $30M contract he received. 

Rosenthal also notes that two of his five pitchers were former relievers, with López and San Francisco Giants starter Jordan Hicks (4/$44M and a 1.59 ERA) both making the list. 

“the pitchers’ list is the one that intrigues me. Why? Because López and Hicks were relievers who signed to be starting pitchers — just as Lugo did a year ago.

How many innings either can throw is an open question. Hicks, 27, worked a career-high 77 2/3 innings in 2018, his rookie season. Lopez, 30, averaged 186 1/3 innings as a starter in 2018 and ’19, but hasn’t thrown more than 66 in a season since.”

It’s a question that we’ve asked, as well. Rather than assuming Atlanta was going to move López to the bullpen at midseason, his excellence combined with the loss of Spencer Strider to elbow surgery means Atlanta’s noticeably adjusted the way they’re handling the rotation. 

With scheduled off days and strategic use of callups, Atlanta’s been able to stagger the starts of both López and veteran Chris Sale where they’re pitching almost weekly - López has pitched on Tuesdays and a Wednesday, while Sale has pitched the last two Friday nights and was on Saturday before that. 

Will it be enough? Time will tell, but no one can argue the value that López has brought to the roster so far.