You can feel the game’s intensity reach a furious pace when the heads nearly get hit, benches clear, and players have to be held back. Such chaos unfolded when the Washington Nationals faced the Pittsburgh Pirates. At the center of this fiery storm was a Nationals’ star who topped all the headlines with one controversial gesture. To break down the heat and put it all in perspective, two top MLB insiders have unraveled this chaotic unrest. At the center of it all? The 32-year-old Nationals pitcher Jorge López.
Turns out López was recently suspended after he threw a pitch near Pirates player Andrew McCutchen’s head. The dust never really settled after this game. In fact, this instance stirred divided opinions among analysts and insiders. On a recent episode of the Baseball Today podcast, MLB insiders Chris Rose and Trevor Plouffe weighed in on their perspectives. Although they didn’t accuse López of having harmful intentions, they assessed his actions—and it’s not looking pretty.
López really overstepped the line with this one gesture that followed. As the insider puts it, “I didn’t like Lopez turning to McCutchen and calling… It looked like he called him soft.” Whether López mouthed “soft” or not, there is an unspoken code of respect between pitcher and batter.
Adding to that belief, the insider continued, “I would imagine that if you stand in there in a batter’s box for a living and you have a baseball come at your head, that does not make you soft.” He emphasized that he usually doesn’t like to discuss intent but summed it up by saying, “I don’t think he did it, but I don’t know 100%.”
It all traces back to the seventh inning of the game when a series of brutal pitches stunned both sides. Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds was hit by López with a pitch in the previous inning. It didn’t really offend Reynolds, but the situation quickly intensified when López went up against McCutchen. During the seventh, he threw a 92 mph sinker that almost hit McCutchen’s head. McCutchen ducked just in time to avoid the dangerous pitch. This incident sparked the entire controversy. Eventually, the game was seized by the Pirates’ 6-1 win against the Nationals.
For the time being, the speculations around López’s intentions towards McCutchen will continue to spin around. But more than that, it’s the gesture that followed that has stirred the controversy. The question here is, is it his pattern or just a one-time thing?
Have Jorge López’s outbursts become a pattern?
There comes a point when recurring outbursts start to look like a troubling pattern. And now, it seems like López is pretty close to crossing that line with his volatility signs. It hasn’t even been a year since López topped the headlines for tossing his glove into the crowd. This happened back when he was playing for the New York Mets.
Apr 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Jorge Lopez (21) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
That’s not even the real shocker. After that game, his rant made headlines, although he made it clear that it was his personal frustration and had nothing to do with the game. But you can’t UNO reverse the damage that has already been done, can you? Eventually, López was DFA’d postgame and ended up with the Nationals. What made things worse once again was his 2025 campaign. He holds a 10.57 ERA in his eight appearances. It clearly reflects that he’s struggling to find his footing in the zone and keep his composure. His biggest red flag was revealed during this recent matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
López has been a part of five different teams in three seasons. Even if he labels his outbursts “personal,” it doesn’t really help. It impacts bullpens, managers, and the atmosphere of the clubhouse equally. Let’s see how he keeps up with the Nationals for the upcoming games.
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