Chicago White Sox: 1 reliever was stunning in his return

On Friday morning, the Chicago White Sox announced four moves. One of them included recalling right-handed pitcher Reynaldo Lopez from Triple-A Charlotte. In Triple-A, Lopez had pitched to a 7.62 ERA over 10 starts, posting a 1-6 record over 39 innings pitched.

The Chicago White Sox are hoping to get some good innings out of Reynaldo Lopez.

Although he struck out 50 batters in Triple-A, he allowed opposing hitters to hit to a .327 batting average to go along with a 1.50 WHIP. Lopez made his first appearance that same night for the White Sox, throwing two scoreless innings, striking out one, and allowing only one hit.

He looked very different in his first appearance with the White Sox this season than he had all season in Triple-A. The White Sox have had some struggles in the bullpen this season and Lopez’s impressive outing Friday night may have opened the door for him to find a spot in the front end of the bullpen.

Lopez’s issue had always been his control during his time with the White Sox but in a different role, we may see a more comfortable Reynaldo Lopez. Lopez has always had good stuff as a pitcher. He just has never been extremely comfortable.

With the help of Ethan Katz and his time as a starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox behind him, the White Sox may have found a solution to their bullpen struggles through the first half of the season.

Although one appearance is not a large enough sample size, the team he performed against allows it to hold up. The Houston Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball this year and Lopez limiting them to only one hit through two innings does shine brightly through what was a difficult game for White Sox fans to watch as the team only mustered three hits in Friday night’s game. With both Jace Fry and Matt Foster being optioned to Triple-A, look for Reynaldo Lopez to make a few more appearances coming out of the bullpen this season for the White Sox.