The Nationals announced that right-hander Jorge López has cleared unconditional release waivers and is now a free agent. He was already off the 40-man roster, having been designated for assignment a few days ago.
Heading back to the open market was the expected outcome once López was designated for assignment. He is playing on a $3MM salary this year. Given that figure and his poor results this year, no club would be eager to take claim him off waivers. If the Nats had sent him outright to Triple-A, he has enough service time that he could have rejected that assignment and elected free agency.
He’ll now head to the open market and look for his next opportunity. Since the Nats released him, they remain on the hook for what’s left of his salary. Any other club could sign him and only pay him the prorated league minimum salary. That amount would be subtracted from what the Nats pay.
It was reported that Washington’s decision to move on from López wasn’t strictly motivated by his performance, with manager Dave Martinez admitting that he was displeased with López getting flustered by an umpire’s strike zone.
It’s not the first time that López has drawn attention for losing his cool, as he had a well documented on-field blow-up with the Mets last year as well, throwing his glove into the stands. Though it was also reported at the time of that scene with the Mets that López has dealt with a number of notable off-field issues that may have exacerbated some mental health challenges. His son has apparently been in and out of hospitals with regularity due to several autoimmune disorders.
The Mets let him go after that spectacle but the Cubs picked him up. He posted a 2.03 earned run average with Chicago the rest of the way, which likely helped him get his deal with the Nats. However, he has a 6.57 ERA so far this year. His 46.8% ground ball rate and 6.6% walk rate are strong but he’s only striking out 16% of opponents.
The ERA is probably at least somewhat misleading, as López only has a 50.6% strand rate this year. ERA estimators like his 3.44 FIP and 3.99 SIERA suggest he has deserved better. Still, the declining strikeout rate is part of his mercurial career as a reliever. When he first moved to the bullpen with the Orioles in 2022, he punched out 27.6% of batters faced. After being traded to the Twins that summer, he stuck out just 17.6% of opponents. That mark stayed relatively low at 18.4% in 2023, jumped back up to 23% between the Mets and Cubs last year but is now down again.
Ideally, López will land somewhere that puts him in a good position mentally and helps him thrive on the field. If any Major League team thinks they can offer that, López can be signed for essentially no cost.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
The Marlins, Nats, and Mets have all employed Lopez. Phillies and Braves, it’s your turn. Sorry, but thems the rules.
I really want Jorge Lopez to regain his stuff. he’s been through a lot personally. but if not, I hope things will go better for him in his retirement.
He is making 3 million this year whether he works again or not. It’s a great deal.
It was reported locally that the Cubs did not pursue a reunion with him last off-season at least in part because they knew he preferred to be in the Eastern time zone to be nearer to his son. He seems to be a troubled person who has some real challenges that we all can sympathize with. We can’t know if he has burned bridges with some past teams, but the Orioles could take him back if there are no ill feelings, or maybe he’s better off skipping the rest of the season.
He’ll be picked up by the Dodgers any day now.
I’d be surprised if a contender doesn’t pick him up, maybe stash him on the IL, give him a MiLB “rehab” stint to get on track. The stuff is legit, he’s a proven MLB arm.
Wouldn’t be the worst idea.
The fan base loves his comedy.
Jed Hoyer on line 2…
Dont be surprised if the Orioles sign him.
Well that’s a deceiving 6-0
Feels like the Yankees will be next.
I wonder if this is some sort of record. Has any 6-0 pitcher ever been released? I know his W-L don’t mean squat, but I find it interesting.
Best of luck to Jorge and his family. Stress in personal life can interfere with a person’s work life….I know it has mine at times. I hope Jorges next opportunity foes better.
Low Rider…
I feel bad for AAAA+ players. They almost have it. Too bad to excel consistently and to good to write off. He was considered to be a potential starter early in his career.