Sometimes, a fresh start can be all a struggling player needs to get their career back on track.
That might have been all Baltimore Orioles reliever Jorge Lopez needed.
Once a starter, Lopez had a career record of 11-29 with an ERA north of six.
The Kansas City Royals designated Lopez for assignment back in 2020.
The Orioles took a chance on him last season and their experiment with him did not start off well.
Still a starter, he had the highest ERA in all of baseball.
But after the Orioles moved him to the bullpen, he’s found himself and has been selected to the American League All-Star team.
Danny Vietti notes on Twitter how Lopez took his lumps and turned into a star.
A Success Story
This is another great success story for a player who has been through so much in terms of struggles and didn’t exactly have a clear path to success.
But the Orioles appear to have found a perfect role for Lopez.
Now, he’s playing a huge role with them and is one of the keys to their turnaround, which now has them within a game of the .500 mark.
Lopez is 3-5 this year with a 1.74 ERA and has converted 16 of 20 save opportunities.
The key appears to have just been moving him out of the starting rotation and giving him new life in the bullpen, where he clearly has found a ton of success.
And that’s huge for the Orioles, who are surging right now.
But you can’t help but feel happy for Lopez.
He’s been through so much and now it has finally culminated in an All-Star selection.
He’ll join the rest of the American League squad on July 19 at Dodger Stadium.
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