While it might be hard to say what the Chicago White Sox will get from Reynaldo López in 2022, it's fair to say they'll get plenty of him.
After missing out on a rotation spot during a springtime battle that Carlos Rodón won in a runaway, López had eye surgery. And seemingly everything changed. Turns out that the guy who struggled mightily in 2019 and 2020 couldn't see the signs the catcher was putting down. Fully capable of seeing what he was doing, it was no surprise that the talented right-hander righted his personal ship in 2021.
"It was a big change," López told NBC Sports Chicago through team interpreter Billy Russo last summer, "because after surgery, I could start seeing the signs clearly. I had the confidence to throw the pitch that I that the catcher was calling."
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They weren't Cy Young numbers, mind you, and no one is suggesting López bumps anyone out of the White Sox' rotation this year. But he's once again a valuable piece for a team chasing a championship, something everyone thought he'd be when he was the best starting pitcher on the South Side in 2018.
López was used both as a spot starter and a bullpen arm in 2021, succeeding in both departments after posting a sky-high 7.62 ERA in 10 starts at the Triple-A level. In 20 trips to the hill in the bigs, his ERA was 3.43.
"I use the analogy," White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito told NBC Sports Chicago last summer, "Reynaldo was like a caterpillar that went into a chrysalis in (Triple-A) Charlotte the first half of the season. He's emerged a butterfly for us right now."
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Expect the White Sox to take advantage of that metamorphosis and call on López as both a reliever and spot starter again in 2022. Of course, how often he'll be starting games has a lot to do with stuff he'll have no control of.
As things stand right now, in the middle of the lockout and prior to the resumption of Rick Hahn's offseason activity, López is the White Sox sixth starter, meaning he'll be the first one called on should any of Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel or Michael Kopech get hurt. Given weather-forced doubleheaders and the pledged "creative" way the White Sox plan to manage Kopech's workload in his first full season as a starter, though, expect to see López even absent an injured-list trip for one of the starting five.
As fans across baseball know well, having starting pitching beyond the five guys in the Opening Day rotation is not just a luxury, it's a necessity. And so it won't be at all surprising if Hahn scours the free-agent field for more arms that can serve as rotation depth, even if that's a tricky needle to thread, finding a quality piece that is also fine with shuffling off to the bullpen or even the minor leagues at spring training's end.
Hahn could, too, go big and rearrange his starting rotation with another offseason splash, one that certain fans have been begging for after four straight belly flops by White Sox starting pitchers in the playoffs. That doesn't seem the most likely route, but it's possible and could bump López further down on the starting-pitching depth chart, not at all a bad thing for the White Sox, who would have more depth to work with in a season with World Series aspirations.
If all goes perfect, and so rarely is that the case during a baseball season, López would log most of his innings as a reliever. Though he might not be part of Tony La Russa's late-game arsenal, that doesn't mean he wouldn't be valuable in numerous other relief situations, and a fairly massive exodus from the White Sox' bullpen — Kopech, Ryan Tepera, Evan Marshall, probably Craig Kimbrel and maybe even Garrett Crochet — means López could be among the more reliable arms remaining in the relief corps.
Of course, "reliable" is relative when it comes to relief pitching, as Hahn will tell you. In the case of López, it might be even more relative, or at least a hard thing to guarantee, considering the wildly contrasting results of his last four seasons. Will the corrected eyesight mean everything else stays corrected, the positive results included? We'll find out, I suppose.
But unlike 2020, when López appeared to be a hole in the rotation, and unlike 2021, when López was almost written entirely out of the White Sox' story, he can head into 2022 knowing he'll be counted on, knowing he has a significant part to play.
The White Sox, too, will need him to do it and do it well, or starting-pitching depth could become a real problem. Because who knows what inexperienced youngsters like Jimmy Lambert and Jonathan Stiever will be able to provide, especially if needed for a lengthy stretch, due to to injury. There's nothing saying they'd be entirely incapable, but the White Sox would likely rather not find out — rather not be stuck shopping for starting pitching at the trade deadline.
That's where López comes in, providing a safety net, something there's a lot more confidence he can do after the way he pitched in 2021.