Twins pitcher Pablo López exits early with elbow soreness

Injury concerns cloud optimistic start to Twins' spring training

Published on Feb. 17, 2026

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Minnesota Twins pitcher Pablo López left a live batting practice session early on Monday due to right elbow soreness, raising concerns about the team's fragility even after new executive chair Tom Pohlad gave an impassioned speech about the organization's direction and the importance of communication and accountability.

Why it matters

The Twins are counting on strong starting pitching, led by López, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober, to contend this season. Any significant injury to López would be a major blow to their playoff hopes, highlighting the team's overall fragility despite Pohlad's optimism about their chances of outperforming modest projections.

The details

López, who is ahead of schedule in his preparations to pitch for Venezuela in next month's World Baseball Classic, exited the session after throwing just two pitches in his third inning of work. The Twins do not yet know the severity of the issue, and López will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. Losing López for any length of time would be damaging to the Twins' hopes of a turnaround, as the right-hander was a key part of their rotation in 2025 before missing time due to various injuries.

  • On Monday, February 16, 2026, the Twins held their first full-squad workout of spring training.
  • López exited his live batting practice session early on Monday due to right elbow soreness.

The players

Pablo López

A right-handed starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins who is seen as a key part of their rotation this season.

Tom Pohlad

The new executive chair of the Minnesota Twins, who gave an impassioned speech to the team about the organization's direction and the importance of communication and accountability.

Derek Shelton

The manager of the Minnesota Twins, who remained optimistic about López's injury and did not want to speculate on the severity.

Liam Hendriks

A relief pitcher for the Minnesota Twins who was impressed by Pohlad's speech, saying it was the most impassioned he had heard from an owner.

Pete Maki

The pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins, to whom López reported his elbow soreness.

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What they’re saying

“It's some soreness, and we want to be abundantly careful because it's Feb. 16. I look for the good things that happened. … I don't live in a speculative world. It's a terrible place to be in this game, because we're always speculating about what's going to happen or what's not going to happen. You don't do that, because you end up worrying about 90 percent of the stuff that never comes to fruition. Right now, I'm taking that we had a really good day, he felt some soreness. We'll get it looked at, and move on from there.”

— Derek Shelton, Manager, Minnesota Twins (nytimes.com)

“Never, as far as that impassioned of a speech. That was cool to see, and there's a lot of care behind it. He's understanding that we haven't been good. He acknowledged the weaknesses that we have, and you embrace them moving forward. I liked the accountability thing. … There was some thought behind it, wasn't just a spur of the moment thing. There was some substance.”

— Liam Hendriks, Relief Pitcher, Minnesota Twins (nytimes.com)

What’s next

The Twins will wait for the results of Pablo López's MRI to determine the severity of his elbow soreness and whether he will miss any time.

The takeaway

This injury scare for Pablo López, coming just hours after the Twins' new leadership emphasized accountability and communication, highlights the fragility of the team's pitching staff and the uphill battle they face in trying to exceed modest preseason expectations.