It was my second trip out to the Lee Health Sports Complex this year on Monday, February 16th and when I arrived I was shocked by the amount of cars in the parking lot, more than I have ever seen out there except for a Twins Spring Training game. At first didn’t realize what was going on until I saw the Bloodmobile and a number of Lee County safety vehicles and realized it was the annual Lee Health Sports Complex hosting the Minnesota Twins Open House and Health Fair.
I had been out to the complex about a week earlier, just before Spring Training opened and their were a number of players around but this day was special, it was the first day of Spring Training for the position players. Once I got through the throng of people the Open House attracted I started taking some pictures of PFP and then headed over to the bullpen down the third base line to see who was throwing a bullpen and was happy to see Pablo Lopez and Cole Sands hard at work. I watched them both throw for awhile and then went over to the backfields to see what was going on there. I left about Noon or so and headed for home.
Later in the day I was surprised to hear that Lopez had been throwing live BP and walked off he mound in the middle of “an inning” with a bit of a sore elbow. The Twins reported it more as a precautionary move but also stated that Lopez would be having an MRI. Once “MRI” was mentioned, I was concerned.
The next day the word was out, Lopez has been diagnosed with a significant tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. He is getting a second opinion but that is just a formality and it looks like Pablo Lopez will not be pitching for the Twins in 2026. This will be his second TJ surgery.
That is such horrific news for the Minnesota Twins to lose their Ace on the first day of Spring Training, particularly coming off the tumultuous past year the team and the fans have encountered. Lopez is the leader of the Twins staff and starting pitching was the teams strength.
Unlike most Twins fans, I do not think this is a bad team. Granted, they are probably not a playoff team but they are not as bad as they played after the trade deadline fire sale decimated the team and the team morale in the second half of 2025. I was thinking of it more as a team that could play .500 ball and be competitive. This injury could not have happened at a more inopportune time.
But, that is baseball and injuries happen, the Twins starting pitching depth will be tested. There is no one there that can replace Pablo Lopez but someone needs to step up and we will have to wait and see who that is and if he can help carry the load and help this team win. It’s at times like this you have to remember that baseball is a team game and the loss of one player doesn’t mean the end of the season before it has even started, it just makes the challenge a bit more difficult. Don’t give up on this team yet.
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