FORT MYERS, Fla. — Monday brought optimism, positive vibes and all the hope that is customary on the first full day of spring training. Tuesday brought the crushing reality the Twins are likely to be without one of their top players for the entire 2026 season.
The Twins are digesting the news Pablo López will likely need Tommy John surgery to address what general manager Jeremy Zoll called a “significant tear” in the starter’s ulnar collateral ligament.
The Twins have talked up the depth of their rotation as a strength of the team, and now that depth is getting tested immediately with the door opening for their young starters to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity.
“You can never have enough starting pitching depth,” manager Derek Shelton said. “I mean, there’s no manager in the world that’s going to tell you, regardless of how many guys they have, it’s too much. This gives some of our younger pitchers an opportunity to step up.”
All-star Joe Ryan will head the rotation. Behind him, the Twins are hoping for a bounce back from Bailey Ober, who was the picture of consistency before a tough 2025. The Twins are now likely to have room in the rotation for three among a group of younger starters that includes Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel.
Every member of that group has at least some major league experience, ranging from Bradley, who has thrown nearly 400 innings across the past three seasons, to Abel, who has 39. Both Bradley and Abel were acquired at least year’s trade deadline — Bradley for Griffin Jax and Abel as part of the Jhoan Duran deal.
Woods Richardson has spent much of the past two seasons in the Twins’ rotation and capped off his 2025 with a strong September. Matthews and Festa each debuted in 2024 and had stints in the rotation last year.
“We have a lot of really good starting pitching depth,” Ryan said. “We’re going to go out there, put the best foot forward. … We can still be competitive and be in a really good spot, and it just sucks to lose him.”
While the Twins like their internal options, there’s always a chance they look externally, too, for rotation help. Lucas Giolito and former Twin Zack Littell are among the free agent options still available.
Asked about that possibility, Zoll touted the number of starters the Twins have in camp.
“Obviously picking up the pieces from this news and (we) want to make sure we have full clarity on everything before we get to next steps,” Zoll said. “We spent a lot of this offseason talking about the strength of our roster being in the rotation depth and view it as a real opportunity as a next man up.”
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