Remember Cleveland pitcher Reynaldo Lopez? If you blinked, you missed it. In one of the more curious moves in Cleveland baseball history, in late 2023 the Guards were awarded a series of waiver claims that netted them starter Lucas Giolito and relievers Reynaldo López and Matt Moore. All were entering free agency and unlikely to be with the team in 2024. Lopez was the only one who did much with the team, pitching 11 innings in relief and only allowed 5 hits and struck out 12.
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Lopez originally came up in the White Sox organization and was a starter from 2017-20 going 21-31 with a 4.76 ERA over 81 starts. He transitioned to a reliever and was successful as a power arm out of the pen. After his brief stop in Cleveland, Lopez signed a $30 million, three-year contract with Atlanta for the 2024 season. The Braves, needing to stabilize their rotation, moved him back to the starting role. And this season he has been awesome, going 2-1 with a 1.53 ERA/1.132 WHIP, striking out 36 in 35 innings.