Major League Baseball suspended Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler and Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López for seven games each on Wednesday, a day after both were ejected for taking part in a brawl during a game in Anaheim. The league also announced undisclosed fines, with Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations, delivering the punishment from above after the dust-up had already spilled out of the dugouts and bullpens. **Who Has the Power** The discipline came from Major League Baseball, the apparatus that controls the game, the schedule, and the penalties when the spectacle gets too messy for the people running it. The suspensions were scheduled to begin with Wednesday’s game, but they were put on hold pending appeals from each player. MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association then reached an agreement to reduce López’s suspension to five games, effective immediately. With an off day, López will be able to keep his scheduled next start for Atlanta. That is the machinery at work: punishment announced, then negotiated, then adjusted, all while the players remain subject to the league’s authority. The fines were not disclosed. **How the Fight Started** Soler started in right field and batted fourth in Wednesday’s finale of the three-game series. He homered off López in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game. In his next at-bat, Soler was hit by a 96 mph fastball from López. In the fifth, Soler charged the mound after López threw a high-and-inside wild pitch that tipped off catcher Jonah Heim’s mitt. As Soler began walking toward the mound, López held up his hands and the two glared at each other before both started throwing punches. The right-handed López held the baseball in his right hand as he used it to throw a punch at Soler’s batting helmet. Players and coaches stormed out of the dugouts and bullpens. **The People Caught in the Middle** Braves manager Walt Weiss tackled Soler, the 2021 World Series MVP with Atlanta. Weiss said, “I love Soler. We were teammates here. But that’s a big man, and so I just felt I’ve gotta get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, yeah, because he was on a warpath.” López and Soler were Braves teammates during the second half of the 2024 season. López said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com: “It’s just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded. On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So, again, it’s just a shame.” Soler also described the sequence from his side, saying, “Obviously, I have good numbers against him. After the home run and getting hit by a pitch after that, and then he missed way too high and close to my head. At this level, you can’t miss like that.” Atlanta, which led 4-2 when the game was interrupted by the brawl, went on to a 7-2 victory. The incident took place Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Anaheim, California, and the suspensions followed the next day, with MLB’s disciplinary process moving in after the on-field chaos had already played out in public.
