Major League Baseball has handed down suspensions stemming from Tuesday’s brawl between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels.
Angels DH Jorge Soler and Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez both received seven-game suspensions for their roles in Tuesday’s brawl. No other players were suspended, and both Soler and Lopez are planning to appeal.
Los Angeles Angels DH Jorge Soler and Atlanta pitcher Reynaldo López have been suspended seven games for the big brawl in Anaheim last night in which Soler charged the mound and López punched him while holding a baseball in his hand.. Both are appealing.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 8, 2026
Soler fundamentally sparked the brawl when he ran out to the mound, upset with the Braves for coming up and in on him in the first pitch of an at-bat during Tuesday’s game. Both Soler and Lopez took some major swings at each other, with Lopez doing so while still holding the baseball (video here).
The suspension is ultimately more severe for Soler than for Lopez. Soler is an everyday player, while this essentially means Lopez will miss a turn through the rotation. This is standard precedent for MLB. When Tim Anderson and Jose Ramirez infamously squared off in 2023, it was Anderson who got the longer suspension for throwing the first punch, even though Ramirez took a bigger and more effective swing.
Notably, Braves manager Walt Weiss was not punished. If anything, MLB should probably commend him for his role in keeping things from getting worse.
