Chicago White Sox: Grading a weird year for Reynaldo Lopez
The Chicago White Sox still might have hope for Reynaldo Lopez.
The Chicago White Sox thought, at first, that Reynaldo Lopez was going to be the big piece they got out of the Adam Eaton trade. The Washington Nationals sent Lopez, along with Lucas Gioltio and Dane Dunning, over to the Sox to get Eaton for their run at the World Series. They did eventually win the World Series within a few years so they will never regret the trade but the White Sox sure got a lot out of it as well.
Lucas Giolito struggled with the White Sox at first and Dane Dunning was a long way away from being a Major Leaguer at the time. Reynaldo Lopez, had an immediate impact as he was the White Sox best pitcher during the 2018 season. However, during the 2019 season, Lucas Gioltio came back and was one of the best pitchers in the league while Lopez took a big step back.
A lot of people wondered if he would be able to bounce back in 2020 but they didn’t necessarily get the results they wanted. He struggled again as he was a -0.6 WAR player with a pitching record of 1-3. He had a 6.49 ERA and a WHIP of 1.633 in 26.1 innings pitched. He had a couple of games where he pitched well and the White Sox were able to win but it wasn’t good enough.
2020 Grade: D
Lopez is getting a D letter grade because of the fact that he wasn’t very good in 2020. His ERA and WHIP were pretty awful so it is hard to justify giving him a grade any higher. The reason he isn’t getting an F, however, is because of the fact that there were some games down the stretch that he pitched well in.
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2021 Outlook:
In 2021, Lopez is going to have another chance to prove that he has value to the White Sox in the long term. We all saw how he played in 2018 and that there is talent in there somewhere. They hired Ethan Katz who has helped a lot of young pitchers find their way, including Giolito. If he can’t make it as a starter because hitters figure him out after one time through the order, you’d have to think he gets a chance as a bullpen guy. Hopefully, he is able to figure something out with Katz and find a way to positively impact the White Sox.