The Twins received news of a serious injury this morning, as did the right-hander Pablo López was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow, general manager Jeremy Zoll announced to reporters (via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). He’ll want a second opinion, but season-ending surgery is on the table for López.
López felt elbow discomfort following a recent bullpen session. The twins sent him to take pictures but put it as a precaution. It is clear that the situation has taken a turn for the worse. Most UCL tears require surgical repair, whether it’s an internal brace to fix/strengthen the existing ligament or a full reconstructive (“Tommy John”) procedure. Either scenario will end López’s season before it even begins.
The 29-year-old López missed much of 2025 with an injury, making it to just 14 games and pitching 75 2/3 innings. A Grade 2 strain of López’s core muscle was the main issue, but he finished the 2025 campaign on the shelf due to arm strain. He was excellent when he was in the field, working to a 2.74 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate and a 6.4% walk rate in 75 2/3 frames.
Former president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said earlier in the season that López would have gone on to say what the team described as a handshake if the club had been in postseason contention. The veteran righty, who will turn 30 early next month, had a stellar regular season. It looks like the UCL tear is the latest injury to come out of camp (although even if there was some quiet disagreement about the UCL issue late last season, the timing would have remained the same; López was expected to miss the 2026 season anyway).
López’s injury is a result of an already thin Twins lineup. Starting depth is a strength of the organization, but most of the options in camp are highly regarded young pitchers who have yet to establish themselves in the majors. López’s injury is telling Joe Ryan in line as Minnesota’s Opening Day starter. You will be followed by a bounceback hopeful Bailey Ober (who was plagued by a hip injury last year) and running out of options is fine Simeon Woods Richardson – a former top prospect who had a 14-game start to his 2025 season after being picked up earlier in the year.
The twins turned around and looked up beyond the three. Right-handed David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Hello Bradley (found during the last se Griffin Jax) and Mick Abel (found during the last se John Duran) ranked as a top 100 prospect before their major league debut. Left hand Connor Prielipp he is currently in the top 100 list himself. That’s right Andrew Morris (Twins fourth cycle in 2022) and southpaw Kendry Rojas (twin trade title Louis Varland) are both well-regarded arms ranked in the top 15 or so of the team’s prospects and are not too far from MLB readiness.
Any of those young arms could step up and contribute to one of the last two spots in Minnesota’s rotation, but it’s unlikely that any bulk can replace what a healthy López will bring to the table. The right-hander has a solid 3.61 ERA over his past 141 major league starts (795 innings) and has struck out 26% of his opponents against a 6.3% walk rate in that span. López’s combination of plus strikeouts, walks and ground balls with the Twins led to slightly better marks from metrics like SIERA (3.41) and FIP (3.44). The 2023 All-Star hasn’t put together an ace-caliber standout season yet, but many fans and analysts believe he can; he finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting in that ’23 campaign.
The Twins signed López to a four-year, $73.5MM extension shortly after acquiring him. That deal covers the 2024-27 seasons. López is signed through 2026 and 2027 at $21.75MM apiece, making him the highest-paid player on a roster the beleaguered Twins traded for 11 players at last year’s deadline and made only modest additions (at best) to the roster this winter. The twins have signed Josh Bell, Victor Caratini again Taylor Rogers in big league deals and added relievers Anthony Banda again Eric Orze by trade. They have a long list of visible veterans in camp on undrafted deals: Gio Ursela, Orlando Arcia, Andrew Chaffin, Liam Hendriks, Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman again Julian Merryweather.
Newly appointed chairman Tom Pohlad, who took over from his younger brother Joe earlier this winter, has recently been vocal about the twins’ ability to continue to add to earnings. He recently confirmed to Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic that his club ran late Framber Valdez after the lefty lingered on the market and offered a multi-year offer that was rejected by the industry favorite Tigers.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Twins will go out and make an outfield addition, but there are still some options if they hope to do so. Right-handed Lucas Giolito and a former Twin Zack Littell are among the most notable names who do not yet have a home for the upcoming 2026 season. The Twins are deep in outfielders and could try to make a deal with an Astros club that has been trying to get just that, and there are a number of other up-and-coming veterans whose names have come up freely in trade talks throughout the winter (e.g. Brady Singer, Patrick Sandoval).
It’s not clear how much the new Pohlad family member in charge of the executive chairman position is willing to cut the team’s salary, but a late run at Valdez at least suggests some openness. That should only be natural, though, as the Twins’ payroll is down more than $30MM from last season and more than $50MM from its peak in 2023, when it approached $160MM. There should be room to add someone like Giolito, Littell, Sandoval, etc. without breaking the bank. If the team doesn’t stay strong at pitching in the first few months, that player could be traded before the trade deadline along with other veteran trade options.
