Twins Dealt Massive Blow to Ace Pablo Lopez

February 17, 2026

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez pitches during 2025 game.

The Minnesota Twins just got hit with the kind of spring gut punch that can change an entire season. 

Ace Pablo Lopez felt elbow soreness during a bullpen on Monday, and by Tuesday the early MRI read was grim: “significant” tearing in his right UCL, with Tommy John surgery very much on the table.

Pablo López injury news is as bad as it sounds

Twins GM Jeremy Zoll said Lopez will seek a second opinion this week, with the hope that rest and rehab could avoid surgery. 

If that does not happen and he goes the Tommy John route, it likely wipes out his entire 2026 season and also takes him out of Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic plans next month, which is a brutal double hit for a guy who was ramping up to pitch in March.

Last season, Lopez posted a strong 2.74 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, with 73 strikeouts across 75.2 innings and 14 starts. 

What the Twins do now without their ace

Lopez has been Minnesota’s Opening Day starter in each of the past three seasons, and he’s signed through 2027 while making $21.75 million in 2026, so this is not a short-term inconvenience. 

The timing is especially rough because 2025 already went sideways for him health-wise, and the Twins were counting on a healthy version of Lopez and Joe Ryan to stabilize everything. 

Now, Minnesota is staring at a rotation where Ryan becomes the clear front man, and the pressure ramps up quickly on the next wave of arms to soak up real innings.  

Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images 

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