rewrite this title Twins ace Pablo Lopez undergoing Tommy John surgery

Pablo Lopez will miss the 2026 season. 

The Twins right-hander is set to undergo Tommy John Surgery next week after it was discovered that he had a torn ulnar collateral ligament earlier this week. 

Lopez, who turns 30 next month, had felt something in his elbow during a bullpen session on Monday. 

The injury also takes Lopez out of the World Baseball Classic, during which he was set to take the mound for Venezuela. 

The typical recovery timeline for Tommy John is roughly 12-to-18 months, meaning Lopez could be back on a big league mound by early next season. 

It’s the second time in Lopez’s professional career that he will undergo Tommy John, having previously done the surgery in 2014 while he was in the Mariners’ organization. 

Lopez has been Minnesota’s starter in each of their last three Opening Days since being traded over by the Marlins before the 2023 season. 

In three seasons with the Twins, Lopez has posted a 3.68 ERA across 78 starts. 

During his debut season with the team in 2023, Lopez had the best season of his career, making his first and only All-Star team and finishing 7th in the AL Cy Young voting with a 3.66 ERA across 194 innings. 

Last season, Lopez dominated with a 2.74 ERA, although he was limited to just 14 starts with a shoulder and forearm strain. 

After finishing 70-92 last season, Twins management cleaned house this offseason. 

Shortly after the regular season’s end, Minnesota fired manager Rocco Baldelli after seven seasons at the helm, later replacing him with Derek Shelton. 

Late last month, with spring training just weeks away, the Twins and president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey “mutually” agreed to split ways.

The team announced general manager Jeremy Zoll would continue “leading” the baseball department after Falvey’s departure.