A third Washington Nationals offseason bullpen pickup has been DFA’d with Jorge Lopez getting the boot
Jorge Lopez has joined Lucas Sims and Colin Poche as Nationals offseason pickups to be let go before June. Lopez has been DFA’d in a move that brought Eduardo Salazar to the big leagues.
Three of the Nationals major offseason bullpen signings are gone before June 1: they just DFA’d Jorge López. Recalled Eduardo Salazar from Triple-A Rochester.
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) May 31, 2025
Lopez has had a very odd season. He has a sky high 6.57 ERA, but was somehow 6-0. Lopez has also had some weird moments on the mound. He was suspended for three games after hitting Andrew McCutchen.
There have also been plenty of moments where the right hander has had some erratic body language on the mound. In his last outing, he had to be calmed down by Davey Martinez after getting into it with an umpire. Per Talk Nats, the DFA was not performance related.
Hearing it was not about performance.
— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) May 31, 2025
This same thing happened for Lopez last year, getting cut by the Mets after throwing his glove in the stands and giving an explosive interview post-game. You would have to think that Mike Rizzo considered this when evaluating Lopez. While he must have thought this behavior was a one time thing, it was clearly not.
Jorge Lopez just got ejected and then…launched his glove into the stands?????
Things are not great in Queens. pic.twitter.com/RO2e13qltO
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 29, 2024
Other than Kyle Finnegan, all of the free agents the Nationals picked up for the bullpen are now gone. With Sims, Poche and Lopez gone, the Nationals spent $7.4 million on relievers who did not make it to June. At least the Nats can turn the page on this and rely on younger options like Cole Henry and Jose A Ferrer.