Lopez ready to complete unfinished business in 2026

MESA, Ariz. -- For as impressive of a rookie campaign as Jacob Lopez had, you can’t help but wonder, “What if?” when looking back at his 2025 season.

What if he had never felt that discomfort in his left forearm, later diagnosed as a season-ending left elbow flexor strain, during a start against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park last August?

Based on the trajectory his year was taking, it looked as if Lopez was on his way to challenging for the title of top rookie pitcher in MLB. In the 13 starts prior to that outing in Seattle, the left-hander was 7-2 with a 2.17 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 70 2/3 innings, posting the third-lowest ERA in MLB over that stretch.

Lopez’s dominance was even catching the attention of representatives for Team Mexico, which reached out to gauge his level of interest in representing the country for this year’s World Baseball Classic.

Then, all that positive energy came crashing down on Aug. 24. Lopez was tagged for nine runs and uncharacteristically issued six walks in two innings for what was his final game of the season, putting a damper on what was looking like a coming-out party of a year

“Getting hurt at that time of the year, close to finishing the season, I had really good momentum,” Lopez said. “The injury really sucked that day in Seattle. It was really frustrating. It took me a few days to wash it. … But I learned a lot from it.”

Knowing he would have to rehab for most of the winter, Lopez remained in Mesa for the entire offseason working out at the A’s Minor League complex under the supervision of strength and conditioning coach Josh Cuffe and the A’s training staff.

“Last year really motivated me to get after it this offseason,” Lopez said. “I learned a lot of good things and bad things. Hopefully, I can bottle that all up and remember it throughout 30 starts this year.”

After a delayed start to game action as he finished up his rehab, Lopez made his second Cactus League start on Saturday and once again looked like his pre-injury self in a 12-1 win over the Royals at Hohokam Stadium. The 28-year-old lefty tossed four hitless innings with seven strikeouts and retired his final 12 batters faced after beginning the game with a leadoff walk.

“Completely different from the first one,” said Lopez, who allowed three runs in two innings against the Dodgers in his spring debut last week. “First time, I tried to make it feel regular, but it just wasn’t. It was good to get all the rust out last week. Everything was working today. It felt good to be back to normal.”

As he looked at his best last year, Lopez created a ton of deception with his fastball, which only averaged 90.3 mph, thanks to his funky cross-body arm slot. He generated 10 whiffs on the afternoon, including three on the four-seamer, which was the putaway pitch on four of his seven punchouts.

“Today was probably one of the better days of him throwing the baseball,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Lopez. “The command was there. The pitch shape. Everything looked good.”

Lopez threw everything in his arsenal -- four-seam, slider, cutter, changeup and sinker -- and was in full control of where he wanted everything to go, with 36 of his 52 pitches going for strikes.

“I messed around with a couple of changeup grips and stuff,” Lopez said. “But it was really tough this offseason. It was just about getting healthy. So, today felt amazing to get my five pitches back to where they were last year and to really hit a turning point.”

Though there’s been no formal announcement of the full starting rotation the A’s will carry into the regular season, the expectation is that Lopez will be part of that group, giving him a chance to address what felt like unfinished business at the end of last year.

“I pay attention to what the media says,” Lopez said. “Rightfully so, I don’t know all the stats, but we were at the bottom of the league as a pitching staff. … I’m really excited about, if I can keep being more consistent and our other guys do what they’re supposed to do, we can help support those bats and be a really good team.”