Jorge Lopez traded to Twins for pitching prospects (edit)

[Jammer7]

Obviously, it is uncommon to see a MLB player put on the IL for mental health. We all know his story, at least we have some insight anyway, and I hope all is well with him and his family. I truly wish him every good thing in life. 

That said, this is a business. I was a believer in his arm talent, but I loved the trade because Jorge’s confidence is very fragile. You cannot have that as a closer. 

[Frobby]

I am sorry to hear that Jorge is having mental health issues.   I hope he is able to overcome them.

On the pitching side, things have been really rough for him over the last four weeks.
 

[Sports Guy]

This trade really messed with him. He was so happy here. Feel bad for him. 

[Moose Milligan]

My goodness, that was insufferable. 

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

This trade really messed with him. He was so happy here. Feel bad for him. 

Well, maybe.  We don’t really have any insight as to what his current issues are and whether they’d be any less problematic if he was still with the Orioles.   

[Aristotelian]

6 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

This trade really messed with him. He was so happy here. Feel bad for him. 

How can we know that? Has he said anything to that effect?  He is a professional baseball player, he should be prepared to change teams and adjust. And as you noted he has periods of success for Minnesota. I know you think he could have continued his waiver claim to all star closer performance had he stayed with the Orioles but that is completely unknowable at best. The much more likely explanation is that the Orioles guessed correctly his performance would regress.

[Sports Guy]

We know how devastated he was when he was traded. We know how much he loved being here. 
 

It’s not definite but I’m guessing it has something to do with things. In other words, if he was still here, I’m not sure he’s going through this.

Happiness means a lot.

[RZNJ]

24 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

This trade really messed with him. He was so happy here. Feel bad for him. 

You sound like you are really tight with Jorge and know stuff no one else could possibly know or ……….

[Frobby]

18 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

We know how devastated he was when he was traded. We know how much he loved being here. 
 

It’s not definite but I’m guessing it has something to do with things. In other words, if he was still here, I’m not sure he’s going through this.

Happiness means a lot.

Can you remind me, what did Lopez say at the time of the trade (or afterwards) that would lead us to conclude that he was devastated by it?   I just don’t remember if he said anything at all.   

[Aristotelian]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Can you remind me, what did Lopez say at the time of the trade (or afterwards) that would lead us to conclude that he was devastated by it?   I just don’t remember if he said anything at all.   

I Googled "Jorge Lopez devastated" and came up with an article about his devastating sinker. Talks about how much he likes the Twins and supportive teammates.

https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-jorge-lopez-attributes-success-to-sinker

“The quality we are as a family, it's huge,” López said. “That's one thing I've been really fascinated with on this team. You can see everybody hug each other, help each other, and try to get it together every single day. That's good. It's good to be on these types of teams.”

[sportsfan8703]

Sad to hear, and I hope he’s getting the treatment he needs. It’s not just the “yips” anymore. 

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

I Googled "Jorge Lopez devastated" and came up with an article about his devastating sinker. Talks about how much he likes the Twins and supportive teammates.

https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-jorge-lopez-attributes-success-to-sinker

“The quality we are as a family, it's huge,” López said. “That's one thing I've been really fascinated with on this team. You can see everybody hug each other, help each other, and try to get it together every single day. That's good. It's good to be on these types of teams.”

This looks like to me that he was very happy with his new Twins teammates so I doubt there was much "devastation" of being traded. Either way, it's very doubtful that a trade a season later would affect someone's mental state to the point of poor performance and needing to be put on the IL. 

Either way, i hope for the best for Lopez but I'm ecstatic how the trade has turned out already for the Orioles on the baseball side. where would this team be without Cano this year after the injuries to Tate and Givens have relegated them to afterthoughts o far this season?

[SemperFi]

Sadly there is still a stigma attached to mental health issues witness the misunderstanding here.  MLB identifies or labels the reason, maybe hockey has a point with the upper/lower body that's it. 

[Going Underground]

Looks like he is the fourth or fifth player to go on the IL for mental health issues this year . Maybe it is more  and they don't list that as a reason due to the stigma.

[tntoriole]

As a psychiatrist, I wouldn’t speculate without examining someone.  However, many people seek an “explanation “ of all mental health issues in psychological or social terms, i.e how his job, or relationships etc “caused” it.

The reality is that serious mental illness is often a brain illness with no more relationship to his life issues than if he had heart or kidney disease. 
 

I will keep a good thought and prayer for his rapid and complete recovery. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by tntoriole