BIOGRAPHY
Reynaldo López was born January 4, 1994, in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. He is a pitcher in the MLB.
López signed with the Washington Nationals as an international free agent in June 2012. His signing bonus of just $17,000 was relatively tiny compared to most other contemporaneous Latin American prospects that would reach his same level of success in the minor leagues. The lower signing bonus may have been because Lopez took several years off of baseball to finish his highschool degree, and signed at age 18.
He made his professional debut that season with the Dominican Summer League Nationals, where he pitched to a 1–1 record and 3.38 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched. López started one game each for both the Auburn Doubledays and Hagerstown Suns in 2013. He pitched for the same two teams in 2014, starting 16 games and finishing with a 7–3 record and 1.08 ERA.
López generates exceptional velocity on his fastball, which he can throw consistently above 95 mph and flash in the triple digits. Lopez also throws a biting curveball and a changeup. He has been mentioned as a possible future reliever, with Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo describing him in 2016 as "a guy that can help in a starting role and in a bullpen role".
López did not make the White Sox' Opening Day roster for the 2021 season. He began the year with Charlotte. He was called up on July 16 where he made his season debut coming out of the bullpen going 2 innings, gave up 1 hit, and struck out 1. He made his first start in 2021 against the Minnesota Twins during game 2 of a doubleheader, going 3 innings, giving up 2 runs and 1 home run, and struck out 3 as the White Sox won 5-3. On August 11, López was promoted to the starting rotation due to an injury to Carlos Rodón. On August 28th against the Chicago Cubs, he was called in after a 6-run first inning to pitch, throwing five perfect innings. Overall in 2021, Lopez appeared in 20 games while making 9 starts, with an ERA of 3.43 and a 4-3 record. He pitched in 57.2 innings and struck out 55 batters. In 2022, López came out of the bullpen and did very well. His average velocity for his fastball in 2022 was 97 miles per hour, and did hit 100 miles per hour in a few appearances. López went 6–4 in 61 games while making 1 start, pitching to an ERA of 2.76 in 65.1 innings while striking out 63 batters.
On July 26, 2023, López and Lucas Giolito were traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for minor league players Ky Bush and Edgar Quero. He would be claimed off waivers by Cleveland on August 31, 2023.
