Twins' López ends live BP session early due to elbow soreness

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins starter Pablo López was removed from his live batting practice session prematurely on Monday due to what manager Derek Shelton called “a little bit of elbow soreness.”

Throwing on the main field of Hammond Stadium at Lee Health Sports Complex, López threw two-plus innings against hitters. He was slightly ahead of his normal schedule due to preparations for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, where he has been scheduled to pitch for Venezuela.

After the second pitch of his third simulated inning, López felt the soreness and cut the session short. He will receive imaging on his elbow, and until that’s done, there is no real read on the severity of what he’s dealing with.

“I mean, obviously, it's February 16, and I think he and [pitching coach Pete Maki] had a little bit of a conversation on the second pitch he threw during the third up and felt some soreness,” Shelton said. “And after he and Pete talked, we decided, out of an abundance of caution, let's get him off, let's get him off the field and make sure he's OK. So, you know, we will have more information. We'll get some imaging on it, just because of how important it is and he is to us.”

López has started each of the past three season openers for the Twins. He’s coming off a year when he went 5-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 75 2/3 innings. He spent three separate stints on the injured list, with a hamstring injury, a muscle injury in the back of his right shoulder, and a forearm strain. Prior to that, however, he had been extremely durable, making 32 starts in each of the previous three seasons.

“I don't know if anybody in that room takes care of himself as well as Pablo does, not only during the season, but in the offseason,” Shelton said. “And the fact that he has awareness of his body, and he and Pete have a strong relationship, and we're able to have a conversation. It was like, OK, let's hold off and take a look here and kind of move on from that.”