Walt Weiss resets Braves starting pitching rotation. More changes could happen

Right-hander Reynaldo López, who opened the season as Atlanta’s No. 2 starter, is moving to the bullpen as Braves manager Walt Weiss shuffles his rotation for a series against Detroit.

More changes could be coming, with right-hander Spencer Strider possibly making his season debut in this weekend’s series at Colorado after opening the season on the injured list because of a strained oblique.

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Left-hander Martín Pérez (1-1, 2.70 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday night’s series opener against Detroit. Rookie JR Ritchie, who won in his major league debut on Thursday at Washington, is scheduled to start Wednesday. Right-hander Bryce Elder (3-1, 1.95) is set for Thursday’s start.

Weiss said he expects López (1-1, 3.74) to return to the rotation after he works out some mechanical flaws in his delivery. Weiss said López is a reliever “for now.”

“We see him as a starter,” the skipper said. “He’s working through some things, delivery-wise, that type of thing, and he’s getting right there. And when he’s right, he’s one of our best starters. He was our No. 2 coming out of camp, even with some of the issues at the end of spring training.

“So we see him as a starter long term, but right now, trying to iron some things out. He’s going to help us out of the ‘pen in the short term.”