Pablo López has 'significant tearing' in UCL; Tommy John surgery likely

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins ace Pablo López has “significant tearing” in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will likely require Tommy John reconstructive surgery, the club said Tuesday.

López left his live batting-practice session early on Monday due to elbow soreness. He underwent an MRI later that day that revealed the tear. He will receive a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister, but the expectation is that he will have the operation and miss the entire 2026 season.

“Obviously it’s really disappointing news,” said general manager Jeremy Zoll. “You really feel for Pablo. As everyone knows, his work ethic, how much he cares about his body, his preparation is second to none. Huge blow for him. He was understandably quite disappointed.”

If López requires surgery, it will be his second Tommy John procedure. His first came in 2013 after his first season of professional baseball in the Mariners organization. López missed time in '25 due to a right hamstring strain in April, a muscle strain in the back of his right shoulder in June, and a right forearm strain in September.

He and Zoll both said that the forearm strain showed as completely healed on the MRI, and that the MRI he received at the time of that injury showed nothing like the kind of ligament damage that Monday’s displayed. Which is to say, there’s little reason to believe there is any connection. Instead, sometimes pitchers’ elbows just give out.

“Things like this, they just tend to happen,” López said. “I remember when I first got my first surgery, people would tell me these things come with an expiration date. Some guys have [TJ surgery], and sometimes they may have to have it four or five or six years [later]. Once I cleared the six-year mark in 2019, I was like, 'Maybe I'm the exception.' I mean, I was to some to some extent. I have 12 years of a foreign ligament, a foreign tissue in the elbow, and now it's partially damaged.”

The typical timeline for a pitcher who undergoes Tommy John surgery is approximately 12 months, so if López requires surgery, the hope is that he would be ready for Opening Day 2027. He is under contract with the Twins through next year.

If a more conservative approach is chosen, Zoll said López would likely be shut down for about a week before being reevaluated. That tack seems unlikely at this point, however.

“A procedure, as much as it sucks, as much it brings disappointment or makes you feel like you failed, also, someone like me who I tend overanalyze things -- rehabbing, it's going to suck,” López said. “Being out of the game is going to suck. But also knowing it's healed, you fixed it from the root, now you just have to put in the time and work and make sure it doesn't happen again.”

The disappointment for López is twofold, because it’s not just the Twins’ season he’s likely to miss. He was scheduled to pitch for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, where role model and current Twins special instructor Johan Santana was to be his pitching coach.

For the Twins, meanwhile, it’s a punch in the gut to lose not only López’s innings but his influence. He’s a model of work ethic and preparation for a pitching staff that could have multiple young pitchers playing significant roles.

Minnesota does have quite a bit of starting pitching depth, but the pitchers who will have the opportunity to step in are unproven -- especially compared to López, who started Opening Day each of the past three years.

Assuming that Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods Richardson were the favorites for the fourth and fifth spots in the Twins' rotation, the leading candidates for a new opening would be Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel. It’s also possible Minnesota could sign a free agent or trade for a starter.

“This gives some of our younger pitchers an opportunity to step up,” said manager Derek Shelton. “And I think when you walk into the room the first day and you have a meeting, you realize that it's not going to take, you know, five starters all year long, and it's not going to take eight guys in your bullpen. So … our younger players have to have that next-man-up mentality. Okay, you know Pablo possibly has an injury that would cause him to miss significant time. So who's the next person that's going to step into that role?”