Significant Twins Trade Candidate To Miss Multiple Months

A tough break for the Minnesota Twins — and potentially some contenders around baseball who will be looking for pitching help — as ace starter Pablo Lopez will be out for up to three months with a teres major strain.

Pablo López is expected to miss 8-12 weeks with a Grade 2 strain in his right shoulder, per @DanHayesMLB

López posted a 2.82 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP in 11 starts this season pic.twitter.com/6Y5VqHFzFU
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 5, 2025

It's a Grade 2 strain in the right-hander's throwing shoulder.

He was having an excellent season with a 2.82 ERA and 1.07 WHIP along with a 61:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 60 innings.

Lopez, 29, is one of the most consistent top-end starters in baseball over the past three seasons, having pitched at least 180 innings each year, with double-digit wins, in and around 200 strikeouts, and an ERA in the mid to high 3.00s.

The Twins are currently in 2nd spot in the AL Central, 6.0 games back of the Detroit Tigers, but in possession of the first Wild Card spot. If they were to fall out of the race, Lopez was looked at as a premium potential trade candidate. But with his return now not expected until sometime in August, or even September, it's unclear if any team would want to take a chance on dealing for him at the end of July.

Lopez has two more years to run on a $21.75 million salary.