Reynaldo Lopez fought dirty when charged by former Braves teammate Jorge Soler

You would think two players who were teammates as recently as 2024 would be friends. You'd also think wrong in the case of Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, and Los Angeles Angels slugger Jorge Soler. The latter entered Tuesday night's game with elite numbers against Lopez, and added to those with an early home run. In Soler's next at-bat, Lopez threw at Soler's head, leading to a benches-clearing brawl, missed haymakers and all. At one point in the fight, Lopez even hit Soler in the helmet with a baseball.

The Angels broadcast didn't do the fight much justice, but it was fierce, especially considering the players involved. Again, Soler is a 14-for-23 hitter with five homers and three doubles against Lopez. The idea that Lopez would want to put him on-base intentionally doesn't really add up, as there was already a runner at first base and the Braves held a two-run lead.

Jorge Soler's fight with Reynaldo Lopez: A breakdown of Angels-Braves brawl

Choose your fighter. Soler has a decisive advantage, which is why Lopez had to fight dirty.

• Jorge Soler: 6-3, 235 pounds
• Reynaldo Lopez: 6-1, 225 pounds

“I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it,” Soler said through interpreter Jobel Jiménez. “That’s why I went out there.” Soler also claimed that his impressive numbers against Lopez were reason enough for the Braves pitcher to throw up and in, which is lacking some context. If Lopez wanted to put Soler on-base and not face him entirely, he could've just plunked him in the shoulder.

Lopez, of course, claimed that he did not intentionally throw at Soler, which makes some sense on the surface. The Braves were up two runs, and Soler was the tying run at the plate. By putting him on, Atlanta would've increased their chances of blowing the lead.

“It's just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded,” López said through interpreter Franco García. “On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So, again, it's just a shame.”

Both Braves manager Walt Weiss (who himself was involved in the chaos) and Angels manager Kurt Suzuki had their players' backs, which is often the case after an incident like this. Soler held no ill will towards Weiss despite being tackled by him.

“I know it didn't look good because of Soler's numbers against López and he hit a homer and he hit him,” Weiss said. “López is not throwing at him. I don't allow our pitchers to throw at people just because they can't get them out. Our job is to get them out. But I understand why Soler got angry.”

Expect MLB to suspend Jorge Soler and Reynaldo Lopez for fighting

MLB has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to these incidents, whether it be intentionally throwing at a player (which Soler believes Lopez did), or charging the mound. There is plenty of precedent for such suspensions. Suzuki, Soler's skipper, surely knows a ban of some sort is coming down the pipeline, but he doesn't blame the Angels star for taking matters into his own hands.

“I don't blame Jorge one bit,” Suzuki said. “You get thrown at your head, you have a family, a career. It's dangerous. I know it happens. But if you ask any hitter and a ball gets thrown near their head, especially after hitting a homer, it’s not good.”

As Suzuki and Soler noted, there's history between he and Lopez. If Soler doesn't stand up for himself – and he certainly has the measurables to hold his own – then who will?

That being said, reasonable expectations for suspensions are between 5-10 games for Lopez, who would then miss 1-2 starts. As for Soler, it's a bit trickier since he's an everyday player. Soler started the incident by charging Lopez, so his suspension should be anywhere from 6-8 games, which could be decreased via appeal.

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