Headlines

  • A.J. Puk Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Gabriel Moreno Diagnosed With Fractured Finger
  • Mariners Designate Rowdy Tellez For Assignment
  • Braves To Select Didier Fuentes
  • Anthopoulos On Trading Chris Sale: “Will Not Happen”
  • Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg In “Advanced” Talks To Sell Team
  • Rafael Devers To Start Work At First Base With Giants
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nationals Release Jorge López

By Darragh McDonald | June 3, 2025 at 2:27pm CDT

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

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Transactions Washington Nationals Jorge Lopez

Pirates Outright Nick Solak
Main
Dodgers To Designate Chuckie Robinson For Assignment
View Comments (15)
Post a Comment

15 Comments

  1. rct

    3 weeks ago

    The Marlins, Nats, and Mets have all employed Lopez. Phillies and Braves, it’s your turn. Sorry, but thems the rules.

    3
    Reply
  2. MacGromit

    3 weeks ago

    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.

    2
    Reply
    • believeitornot

      3 weeks ago

      He is making 3 million this year whether he works again or not. It’s a great deal.

      Reply
  3. Alan53

    3 weeks ago

    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.

    1
    Reply
  4. avenger65

    3 weeks ago

    He’ll be picked up by the Dodgers any day now.

    1
    Reply
    • Robert-5

      3 weeks ago

      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.

      1
      Reply
    • Another Dodgers Fan

      2 weeks ago

      Wouldn’t be the worst idea.

      The fan base loves his comedy.

      Reply
  5. Robert-5

    3 weeks ago

    Jed Hoyer on line 2…

    Reply
  6. Sgraffix

    3 weeks ago

    Dont be surprised if the Orioles sign him.

    Reply
  7. thickiedon

    3 weeks ago

    Well that’s a deceiving 6-0

    3
    Reply
  8. Cohen's _Wallet

    3 weeks ago

    Feels like the Yankees will be next.

    Reply
  9. letitbelowenstein

    3 weeks ago

    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.

    2
    Reply
  10. darthdragula

    3 weeks ago

    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.

    Reply
  11. MartialArtisan

    3 weeks ago

    Low Rider…

    Reply
  12. Gyo02

    2 weeks ago

    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.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    A.J. Puk Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Gabriel Moreno Diagnosed With Fractured Finger

    Mariners Designate Rowdy Tellez For Assignment

    Braves To Select Didier Fuentes

    Anthopoulos On Trading Chris Sale: “Will Not Happen”

    Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg In “Advanced” Talks To Sell Team

    Rafael Devers To Start Work At First Base With Giants

    Giants Acquire Rafael Devers

    Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday

    Roki Sasaki No Longer Throwing; No Timetable For Return

    Nationals To Promote Brady House

    White Sox, Brewers Swap Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn

    Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Brewers’ Aaron Civale Requests Trade

    Angels To Promote Christian Moore

    Brewers Promote Jacob Misiorowski

    Red Sox Acquire Jorge Alcala

    Jackson Jobe To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Shane McClanahan Pauses Rehab, Seeking Further Opinions On Nerve Issue

    Royals Place Cole Ragans On IL With Rotator Cuff Strain

    Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony

    Recent

    Rays Select Paul Gervase

    Angels Place Jorge Soler On 10-Day IL With Low Back Inflammation

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Miami Marlins

    Ivan Herrera To Miss Multiple Weeks With Hamstring Strain

    Jack Flaherty Escalates 2026 Player Option Value To $20MM

    Kyle Gibson Opts Out Of Rays Deal

    A.J. Puk Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Gabriel Moreno Diagnosed With Fractured Finger

    Fantasy Baseball: Targeted Streaming for RHPs

    MLB Issues Suspensions Related To Dodgers-Padres Incidents

    MLB Issues Four-Game Suspension To Pirates’ Dennis Santana

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Nolan Arenado Rumors
    • Dylan Cease Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Marcus Stroman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
    • 2025 Arbitration Projections
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version