FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Following a second opinion, Twins ace Pablo López has decided to undergo Tommy John reconstructive surgery on his right elbow.
Further examination by Dr. Keith Meister confirmed the initial diagnosis of significant tearing in López’s ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Meister will perform the operation on Wednesday at his office in Texas.
“We knew what we were looking at, and we were just looking for like a tiny, tiny percentage of, 'Hey, you never know what someone else might say,'” López said. “If I would’ve heard something else, then look at other options. But we were pretty much -- it’s hard to use the word 'sure' -- but we were pretty much inclined that that was going to be the outcome and what was going to happen.”
It will be López’s second Tommy John surgery. He is expected to miss the entire 2026 season, but he should be able to pitch from the beginning of 2027. The typical recovery from the procedure for pitchers is about 12 months.
It hasn’t been that long since a second Tommy John surgery was a major unknown. But in recent years it has become more common, with pitchers able to resume their careers afterward.
“The hope is there, the numbers are there,” López said. “Then it's the element where I have to put in the work and show up every day -- not going through the motions, understanding I just have to get it done today. Take it day by day. If you live in the past, you get sad. If you live in the future, you get anxious. So, if you live in the present, you put yourself in the best position to get better and come back.”
Twins still will probably convert a starter to a reliever
Over the past couple of weeks, the Twins have added several pitchers to their bullpen mix. And although they may still be a little light on the right side, there’s no longer an obvious need for Major League bodies in the relief corps.
However, that doesn’t mean they’re not still expecting to convert at least one of their starting pitching prospects to relief. Even if there’s not a need in terms of pure numbers, the club’s view is that former starting pitchers are basically the stock from which relievers come. So, for the purposes of building a bullpen in the middle-to-long term, at least one of their passel of high-level starting prospects will likely make the move to relief.
Raya a reliever now
One starting prospect who has already made that switch is Marco Raya. The right-hander began working exclusively in relief late last season, and that is now the long-term plan for him. Raya has excellent stuff but has struggled to throw strikes, which is often a recipe for a move to relief work.
“Whatever opportunity I have to help the big league team win,” Raya said. “If that’s in the bullpen, I’m ready for it.”
Prielipp adds a curveball
Left-hander Connor Prielipp, the team’s No. 9 prospect, is working on adding a curveball to his pitch mix. Prielipp is a hard thrower who has a fastball, a hard slider and a changeup. Even the changeup, the slowest of those three pitches, comes in at around 85-86 mph, so the hope is that adding a slower curve will help those pitches play up. He also started mixing in a sinker to pair with his four-seam fastball last year.