Minnesota Twins Star Pitcher Pablo Lopez Faces Season-Ending Elbow Surgery

Minnesota Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez will undergo Tommy John surgery next week and will be sidelined for the entire 2026 season. The 29-year-old right-hander has battled multiple injuries this past season and previously had the same elbow procedure in 2013.

Minnesota Twins star pitcher Pablo Lopez faces a lengthy recovery after the team announced Friday that he will need Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss all of the 2026 baseball season.

The right-handed pitcher is scheduled to undergo the procedure next Wednesday in Dallas to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm. This marks the second time Lopez has required this surgery, having previously undergone the same operation in 2013 following his rookie year in the Seattle Mariners organization.

The team showed their support on social media, posting on X: “Twins Territory is with you, Pablo.”

Lopez, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on March 7th, had been a workhorse for the team in recent years, taking the mound for 32 starts each season from 2022 through 2024. However, the 2025 campaign proved challenging as he was placed on the injured list three different times, limiting him to just 14 starts where he posted a 5-4 record with a 2.74 earned run average across 75 2/3 innings pitched. His season was interrupted by a hamstring problem, a muscle issue in his throwing shoulder, and ultimately a forearm strain.

Throughout his eight-year major league career split between the Miami Marlins from 2018-2022 and the Twins, Lopez has compiled a 59-53 record with a 3.81 ERA across 172 starts. He has recorded 994 strikeouts while issuing 251 walks over 965 innings of work. The 2023 All-Star selection is currently in year three of a four-year contract worth $73.5 million that he signed in 2023.