Reynaldo López Poised to Make His Return to the Braves

The Atlanta Braves have some promising news regarding one of their key pitchers, Reynaldo López, who's been on the IL with a shoulder problem since early September. If you remember, López was pulled from his start after just one inning against the Washington Nationals on September 10th.

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Since then, the Braves have mostly relied on Grant Holmes to fill the gap in the rotation. While Holmes has managed to hold his own, it looks like the team might not need him in that role much longer because López could be returning to action very soon.

After 15 days on the IL, López is back to throwing, and all signs are pointing toward a smooth return. He spoke to reporters at the ballpark on Wednesday and gave an encouraging update about his progress. According to López, he's feeling good and ready to go.

His bullpen session on Tuesday seems to have been a success, with Braves beat writer Justin Toscano noting that López threw at "about 80 percent" effort and doesn't even feel the need to face live batters before stepping back into game action. That's a huge sign of confidence in his recovery, especially when you consider the timing.

One interesting piece here comes from Mark Bowman at MLB.com. He reported that López is open to returning either as a starter or a reliever. Depending on how things go down the stretch for the Braves, this could add some additional flexibility.

While it's more likely López returns to his starting role, the option of having him available out of the bullpen is valuable insurance. If Atlanta finds themselves in a tight spot, whether that's in the final games of the regular season or heading into the postseason, they have options.

There's a good chance he could make his return as soon as the weekend series against the Kansas City Royals. Monday's makeup game against the New York Mets is another possibility. That will depend on how the weather plays out and what happens in the NL Wild Card race. Getting López back couldn't be better timing for the Braves. With postseason hopes still alive, we will take all the help we can get.