AL Central Notes: Twins, Rojas, Buxton, Gaddis, Tigers
The Blue Jays started asking the Twins about Louis Varland three months before the reliever was actually dealt at last summer’s trade deadline, and Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that the Twins aimed high in negotiations by asking for one of Trey Yesavage or Kendry Rojas in return. Yesavage (the Jays’ top pitching prospect and future postseason breakout star) wasn’t going anywhere, but Toronto eventually budged in moving Rojas and outfielder Alan Roden in exchange for Varland and Ty France.
Fast forward to Spring Training, and Roden is competing for a starting job in Minnesota’s outfield while Rojas’ high-90’s velocity is turning heads in camp. The 23-year-old Rojas got rocked over 32 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2025 and is still trying to harness his control, but he could be a candidate to make his MLB debut at some point this season. The Twins will continue to develop Rojas as a starter but some scouts believe a high-leverage relief role could be in the southpaw’s future. An initial call-up as a reliever could help Rojas ease his way into the big leagues while not closing the door on a potential future as a rotation piece.
More from around the AL Central…
- Guardians right-hander Hunter Gaddis‘ imaging on his forearm “came back clean,” manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters earlier this week after Gaddis experienced forearm tightness after his first spring outing on February 27. Gaddis has resumed his throwing progression and it doesn’t seem like the issue will impact his Opening Day status, as Vogt said “everything I’m hearing is that it’s good news and we’re good to go.” Stebbins writes that the Guardians were already giving workhorse relievers Gaddis and Cade Smith gradual builds into the season, as a reflection of how much both right-handers pitched in 2024-25 — Gaddis’ 151 appearances were the second-most in baseball over the last two seasons, and Smith was right behind with 150 appearances. Gaddis augmented that durability with a 6.3% walk rate and 25.2% strikeout rate, and he’ll again be leaned on for key leverage innings in Cleveland’s bullpen in 2026.
- Beau Brieske is slated to throw a bullpen session today as the Tigers gauge his recovery from right ribcage tightness. Brieske has pitched in just two games this spring but manager A.J. Hinch told the Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold and other reporters that Brieske “has plenty of time as a reliever to accomplish what he needs to make a run at this team.” Ankle and elbow injuries limited Brieske to 22 Major League innings last season, and his health setbacks surely contributed to a 6.55 ERA. While the ribcage issue is another setback, Brieske is aiming to return to his past role as a solid swingman on Detroit’s staff.
- Bookending the post with some more Twins news, x-rays were negative on Byron Buxton‘s forearm after the outfielder was removed from a World Baseball Classic game yesterday after being hit by a pitch. United States manager Mark DeRosa told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ryan Kelapire) that the sixth-inning removal was just precautionary, and done in part because the USA already had a big lead in what ended up as a 15-5 win over Brazil. Even minor injury situations like this can’t help but raise extra concerns given Buxton’s checkered health history, though it appears the outfielder should be fine.
Twins Notes: Lewis, Rotation, Bradley
The Twins have been hit hard by the injury bug already this spring but dodged their latest bullet, it seems. The team announced that third baseman Royce Lewis‘ recent MRI came back clean. Via Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, Lewis will be off today after experiencing some tightness in his right side while running the bases yesterday but is expected to return to normal workouts this weekend.
Lewis, 27 in June, looked to be on the cusp of stardom back in 2023. The former No. 1 overall pick returned from a torn ACL to hit .309/.372/.548 with 15 homers in only 239 plate appearances. The Twins won the AL Central that year, due in no small part to that production from the longtime top prospect, and Lewis erupted with four home runs in only 26 plate appearances that postseason, helping the Twins past the Blue Jays in the Wild Card round before falling to the Astros in four games during the ALDS.
Injuries have continued to set Lewis back, however. In addition to a pair of ACL tears in the same right knee, he’s had major league IL stints for an oblique strain, a quad strain (twice), an adductor strain and a hamstring strain (twice). Since showing that glimpse of his true upside in ’23, he’s taken 728 turns at the plate in two seasons and posted a pedestrian .235/.288/.416 batting line while oscillating between the active roster and the injured list due primarily to that slew of lower body injuries.
Getting Lewis back to 2023 form — or at least something within arm’s reach of it — will be pivotal for the Twins in 2026. Ownership and the front office continue to broadcast a desire to compete this season, but the Twins tore down the bullpen at last summer’s deadline, lost Pablo López to UCL surgery already this spring, and made only marginal additions to the roster over the winter.
Of course, it’s still possible that further additions could be on the horizon. There’s a handful of interesting bullpen arms still on the market (e.g. Danny Coulombe, Michael Kopech, Justin Wilson) in addition to two of the more prominent starters in free agency this winter: Lucas Giolito and Zack Littell. With López lost for the season and young righty David Festa shut down due to shoulder troubles, one would imagine the Twins present a good landing spot for a yet-unsigned starter, whether it be Giolito, Littell, Tyler Anderson or Patrick Corbin — if only to give the club some bulk innings amid the mounting injury concerns.
“Hopefully we’ll stay healthy the rest of the way but we’ll evaluate all the options out there from an external perspective and the rest of our internal options,” general manager Jeremy Zoll said yesterday (link via Matthew Leach of MLB.com). “…We want to figure out how we can do everything we can to supplement that [internal] group that we still like a lot. We see a lot of upside and we’ll use spring to see what’s going on everywhere. Usually you see a lull in action for a bit as teams settle in, want to make sure they’re staying healthy. We’ll keep evaluating.”
The Twins have Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and out-of-options righty Simeon Woods Richardson more or less locked into the first three rotation spots. Righties Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews and Mick Abel are competing for the final two spots on the staff, and the upper tiers of their farm system include prospects such as Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas and Andrew Morris. Prielipp is generally regarded among the game’s top 100 prospects but has been hobbled by injuries throughout his professional career thus far.
With a clear opportunity to seize a rotation spot in front of him, Bradley has made the decision to withdraw from the upcoming World Baseball Classic, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 24-year-old righty informed manager Derek Shelton of the decision this past weekend. He’d been slated to pitch for Team Mexico.
“He stated new manager, new staff to some extent, new catcher in terms of (Victor) Caratini, and he just felt like the best use of his workload during spring training was going to be in our camp,” Shelton explained.
Though he’s younger than Woods Richardson, Matthews and Festa, Bradley has the most major league experience of the bunch. He’s accrued 2.097 years of service time with the Rays and Twins, totaling 385 1/3 innings as a big leaguer. The former fifth-round pick quickly broke out as one of the sport’s most promising pitching prospects, climbing as high as the game’s No. 20 overall prospect at MLB.com (36th at FanGraphs, 44th at Baseball America) heading into the 2023 season.
Bradley has shown potential at times but has yet to put it all together in the majors. He has a career 4.86 ERA due primarily to his susceptibility to home runs (1.49 HR/9). His 25% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 41.1% ground-ball rate all make for a solid profile; metrics like SIERA (4.00) and FIP (4.38) feel he’s already been better than his ERA would indicate, and there’s further breakout potential with the hard-throwing righty. Bradley averages better than 96 mph on his heater and has generated plenty of whiffs with both his splitter and cutter. He’s under club control with Minnesota through the 2029 season.
Twins Claim Zak Kent
The Twins announced Thursday that they’ve claimed righty Zak Kent off waivers from the Cardinals, who’d designated him for assignment a few days ago. Righty Pablo López, who underwent an internal brace procedure yesterday and will miss the entire 2026 season, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Kent joins his third team since spring training opened and his fourth of the offseason. The 28-year-old (as of Tuesday) finished the 2025 campaign on the Guardians’ roster but has since bounced to the Cardinals, Rangers, back to the Cardinals, and now to the Twins following a series of DFAs. There’s fortunately no cross-country journey for him this time around, as the Twins and Cardinals both play their spring games in Florida’s Grapefruit League.
The 2025 season saw Kent make his big league debut with Cleveland, tossing 17 2/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Most of his season was spent with the Guardians’ top affiliate in Columbus, where Kent notched a 2.84 ERA and set down a gaudy 31.4% of his opponents on strikes — albeit against an ugly 13.2% walk rate. Kent isn’t an especially hard thrower, sitting 93.1 mph with his four-seamer in 2025, but he missed plenty of bats in the upper minors thanks to the quality of his mid-80s slider and low-80s curveball.
Kent is entering his final minor league option year. He’s actually already exhausted the standard three option years allotted to players, but teams can be granted fourth option years based on a player’s minor league injury history and/or the speed with which they burn through those original option years. He’ll give the Twins another option to consider in a wide-open bullpen mix that has only Cole Sands, Anthony Banda, Taylor Rogers and Justin Topa locked into spots. In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Kent carries a 3.74 ERA, a 26% strikeout rate and a 12% walk rate.
Twins’ David Festa Likely To Begin Season On Injured List
The hits for the Twins’ rotation keep coming. Right-hander David Festa, who entered camp hopeful of securing a spot on the starting staff, has been diagnosed with a shoulder impingement and will be shut down from throwing for at least two to three weeks, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. He’s received an injection and is likely to open the season on the 15-day injured list.
Since camp opened just two weeks ago, Minnesota has lost Pablo López for the entire season (internal brace surgery) and seen No. 2 starter Joe Ryan slowed by inflammation in his lower back. Ryan has already resumed throwing, but what looked like a quietly crowded Twins’ rotation mix has begun to thin out rather quickly.
Assuming Ryan’s back issue proves minor, the Twins will enter the season with him and right-hander Bailey Ober locked into spots. Righty Simeon Woods Richardson is out of minor league options and pitched well down the stretch in 2025, so he’s likely to grab a third spot. Festa had been competing with homegrown righty Zebby Matthews and 2025 trade acquisitions Taj Bradley (acquired for Griffin Jax) and Mick Abel (acquired for Jhoan Duran) for spots at the back of the group. All four were top-100 prospects in the game prior to their respective debuts.
For now, the competition for those two remaining spots appears to have been whittled down to three (Matthews, Bradley, Abel). There are some longshot options in camp, like southpaw prospects Connor Prielipp and Kendry Rojas, as well as righty Andrew Morris. All three are on the 40-man roster, but no one from that trio has made his big league debut yet. Prielipp and Rojas have barely pitched in Triple-A.
Festa’s injury is the latest health-related setback in the lanky righty’s development. The 2021 13th-rounder has had the look of a late-round steal thanks to terrific strikeout and run-prevention numbers as he climbed through the minors, but he’s now been slowed by two different injuries within the same shoulder over the past year. Festa has started 25 career games in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.46 ERA with a 33.2% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and a swinging-strike rate north of 16%. He’s had some nice starts in the majors but lacked consistency, working to an overall 5.12 ERA in 117 2/3 frames dating back to his 2024 debut.
With injuries mounting for the Twins’ staff, it’ll be telling to see whether they look outside the organization. New executive chair Tom Pohlad, who took that post from younger brother Joe when the Twins introduced a trio of new minority owners in December, has said since assuming that new position that the Twins “want to be aggressive” and believe they can compete despite last summer’s July sell-off. Pohlad publicly confirmed that his club made a run at Framber Valdez before he signed in Detroit, hoping to capitalize on the opportunity presented by Valdez lingering on the market.
None of the remaining starters in free agency — Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, Tyler Anderson among them — can match Valdez’s output, but someone like Giolito or Littell would at least give the Twins some credible mid-rotation innings to help offset the loss of López and provide insurance while Ryan and Festa deal with what will hopefully prove to be relatively minor injury issues. The Twins’ payroll currently projects to come in about $30MM shy of last year’s levels and around $50MM shy of its 2023 peak. That, coupled with their purported interest in Valdez, certainly suggests that there’s room in the budget for another established arm.
Turning back to Festa specifically, it’s a frustrating setback for the lanky 6’6″, 185-pound righty, but there’s no immediate indication that it could be a long-term issue. He enters the 2026 season with 1.052 years of big league service and a pair of minor league option years remaining. The Twins control the 25-year-old for at least five more years. If a rotation role doesn’t work out, Festa’s 94.5 mph heater and above-average slider and changeup could all play up in a relief role. Minnesota’s bullpen looks even more uncertain than the rotation and will need several young, unproven contributors to seize key roles in order to avoid being one of the weakest groups in the sport (barring some late veteran signings).
Pablo López Undergoes Internal Brace Procedure
Feb. 26: López wound up “only” requiring an internal brace procedure rather than a full Tommy John surgery/ligament reconstruction, Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes. López will still miss the entire 2026 season, but the internal brace route comes with a slightly shorter timeline than a full reconstruction. López now has a better chance of being available for Opening Day 2027.
Feb. 20: Twins right-hander Pablo López will have Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. Earlier this week, the Twins revealed that he had tearing in his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament. He took a few days to explore a second opinion but it seems there was no avoiding the worst-case scenario.
It’ll be the second Tommy John procedure for López. His first was more than a decade ago. He’ll miss the entire 2026 season and hope to be ready early in the 2027 campaign, which will be the final season of his four-year, $73.5MM contract with the Twins. López is being paid $21.75MM both this season and next.
The Twins acquired López and a pair of prospects from the Marlins in the Jan. 2023 trade that sent Luis Arraez to Miami. He’s been a rocksteady performer near the top of Minnesota’s rotation for the past three seasons, pitching to a combined 3.68 ERA with even more impressive rate stats (26.8 K%, 5.8 BB%, 43.1 GB%). Metrics like SIERA (3.48) and FIP (3.44) feel he’s been a hair better than his already solid earned run average would indicate.
In 2025, López raced out of the gates with a 2.82 ERA and his typically strong rate stats through his first 11 starts (60 2/3 innings). A Grade 2 strain of his teres major suffered in early June wound up costing him about three months, however. López returned with three sharp starts in September, allowing four runs in 15 innings, before ending the season on the injured list due to a minor forearm strain.
The Twins said after the season that López could have pitched through the injury had the team been in the playoff hunt but opted to shut him down with their season already lost. He received a clean bill of health not long after and had a generally normal offseason. The UCL tear seemingly popped up during his first bullpen session this spring.
Although Minnesota tore the bullpen down last summer at the deadline and sold off several impending free agents (a total of 11 players), they opted not to completely rebuild this winter. After some early uncertainty about how they’d approach the offseason, the team’s sale of a minority stake to three new shareholders gave the front office the necessary space to make some modest additions. Victor Caratini, Josh Bell and Taylor Rogers all signed as free agents, and the Twins opted not to trade López, rotationmate Joe Ryan, catcher Ryan Jeffers (a free agent next winter) or franchise center fielder Byron Buxton.
New executive chair Tom Pohlad has been vocal about his desire to compete and his belief that the roster has a better chance at doing so than those outside the organization think. The Twins made a late run at Framber Valdez and also jumped into the Freddy Peralta bidding, with both of those late-offseason overtures coming after the ownership situation had gained some clarity. Obviously, neither came to fruition, but it stands to reason based on those two efforts that the Twins could at least consider going outside the organization, where Lucas Giolito and old friend Zack Littell are among the notable veterans who’ve yet to sign a contract.
With López formally out for the year, it’ll almost certainly fall to fellow right-hander Joe Ryan to take the mound on Opening Day. Right-hander Bailey Ober will look to bounce back from a season that was torched by an awful June (after which he went on the injured list due to a hip injury). Simeon Woods Richardson is out of minor league options and logged a 4.04 ERA in 111 1/3 innings last year (including a flat 3.00 ERA over his final 14 starts). He should be all but assured a rotation spot as well.
Homegrown former top prospects Zebby Matthews and David Festa will join deadline pickups Taj Bradley and Mick Abel in competing for Opening Day rotation spots, while prospects like Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas and Andrew Morris could challenge for innings as the season wears on, depending on health and performance in Triple-A.
MLBTR Podcast: Twins And Orioles’ Injuries, The Guardians And Angels’ Quiet Offseasons, And Chris Sale’s Extension
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Twins right-hander Pablo López requiring Tommy John surgery (3:20)
- The Orioles losing Jordan Westburg due to a partially torn UCL in his elbow (13:15)
- The Guardians signing Rhys Hoskins to a minor league deal but doing little else this winter (23:45)
- Angels owner Arte Moreno making some curious statements (35:50)
- The Braves and Chris Sale signing an extension (47:35)
- Tony Clark resigning as executive director of the MLBPA and being replaced by Bruce Meyer (53:40)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings – listen here
- Twins Front Office Shake-Up, The Brendan Donovan Trade, Eugenio Suarez, And More! – listen here
- Examining MLB’s Parity Situation – Also, Bellinger, Peralta, Robert, And Gore – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Jonah Hinebaugh, Imagn Images
Twins Notes: Ryan, Raya, Merryweather
A few days after being scratched from his start on Saturday, Joe Ryan is already throwing. Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters that the pitcher played catch from 90 feet this morning (link via Matthew Leach of MLB.com). Ryan was sent for imaging over the weekend after experiencing lower back discomfort, but he’s dealing only with inflammation.
There should still be ample time for Ryan to be ready for the start of the season. If healthy, he’d be a lock to take the ball on Opening Day after Minnesota lost Pablo López to Tommy John surgery. That’s already a massive hit to the Twins’ uphill path to competing for a playoff spot, making it all the more imperative that Ryan stay healthy. It’s a bigger question whether the All-Star righty will be back in time to represent the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic in a couple weeks.
Assuming Ryan is ready for the start of the season, he’ll be followed in the rotation by Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson. There should be a camp battle for the final two spots among Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and potentially David Festa.
One pitcher no longer in the rotation conversation: Marco Raya. The 23-year-old prospect moved to the bullpen while pitching at Triple-A St. Paul in the middle of August. That’s a permanent move, as Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star-Tribune writes that the Twins informed Raya he’ll be a full-time reliever this year. The righty pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout against a handful of Tigers minor leaguers in his spring debut on Monday.
Raya’s move to the bullpen doesn’t come as a huge surprise. The former fourth-round pick has good stuff but hasn’t thrown enough strikes in his minor league career. He walked almost 13% of opponents over 98 2/3 Triple-A frames a year ago, turning in a 6.02 earned run average in the process. Raya used six pitches in the minors but could pare down the repertoire now that he’s working in short relief. The bigger hope is that Raya’s below-average control won’t be as big an issue in brief stints.
There’s ample opportunity in the Minnesota bullpen. Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk and Cole Sands are probably penciled into the Opening Day relief corps. That still leaves three jobs up for grabs. Most of Minnesota’s depth arms on the 40-man roster have little to no MLB experience. They compensated by bringing in a number of veteran arms on minor league contracts with Spring Training invites.
Julian Merryweather is among the non-roster invitees trying to pitch his way onto the roster. Merryweather’s team debut got out to a less than ideal start. The right-hander departed his first Grapefruit League appearance after suffering a left hamstring strain, Nightengale relays. Merryweather walked Justyn-Henry Malloy and struck out Ben Williamson before departing.
MRI Reveals Lower Back Inflammation For Joe Ryan
Right-hander Joe Ryan was scratched from his scheduled Spring Training start yesterday due to lower back tightness and underwent an MRI yesterday to determine the severity of the issue. Those results came back today, and The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that the MRI revealed only inflammation in Ryan’s lower back.
That’s a “best case scenario” for Ryan, in the words of Hayes. It should allow the right-hander to avoid a lengthy layoff and, while the Twins’ exact plans for Ryan as he nurses that inflammation aren’t yet clear, it seems reasonable to expect the right-hander’s ability to be available for Opening Day to be unaffected by this injury. That’s great news for the Twins, who have already lost right-hander Pablo Lopez to the injured list for the year as he prepares to undergo Tommy John surgery. Losing Lopez from the front of the team’s rotation was already a tough blow, but the loss of Ryan as well would’ve been devastating for Minnesota. Ryan figures to be joined in the rotation by Bailey Ober, with the final three spots left to some combination of youngsters Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and David Festa.
Ryan figures to be especially important to the Twins this year given that he’s coming off the best season of his career. An All-Star for the first time in 2025, the right-hander posted a 3.42 ERA in 171 innings of work. He made 30 starts (31 total appearances) and struck out an impressive 28.2% of his opponents while walking just 5.7%. Ryan was held back from true ace-level production by his lackluster 11.5% barrel rate; only five qualified pitchers allowed more home runs than the righty’s 26 last year. Even with that flaw, however, Ryan was a quality front-of-the-rotation starter who garnered plenty of interest at last summer’s trade deadline. While the Twins conducted a fire sale that saw them part ways with Carlos Correa, Harrison Bader, and nearly their entire bullpen, Ryan was one of the most notable pieces to remain in place.
The Twins once again entertained offers on him (plus other stars like Pablo Lopez and Byron Buxton) early in the offseason but eventually took those players off the market in December following Tom Pohlad’s ascension to the role of control person for the franchise. Pohlad, who mutually parted ways with team president Derek Falvey last month, is pushing for the club to contend in 2026 despite a roster that doesn’t look substantially different than the one that was among the worst teams in baseball after the trade deadline. There’s enough talent youngsters on the roster (including Luke Keaschall, Royce Lewis, and Brooks Lee) that it’s not impossible to imagine the team taking a step forward this year, but if the team fails to do so Ryan could once again find himself in trade conversations this summer should he remain healthy.
In the shorter term, it remains to be seen what Ryan’s inflammation will mean for his anticipated participation in the World Baseball Classic. Ryan was announced as part of the Team USA roster for the WBC, but it’s possible he’ll be forced to sit out the tournament due to the injury even in spite of its mild nature. Players around the league have been denied insurance ahead of the WBC, causing issues for all sorts of teams as they prepare for the event. That’s led to additional caution around rostering players who would otherwise seem like safe bets to roster for the tournament, and it’s unclear what impact (if any) that could have on Ryan’s participation at this point. The good news for Team USA is that their group of rotation options remains stacked even if Ryan is unable to participate; Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal headline a group of starters that also includes Logan Webb, top Mets prospect Nolan McLean, and veteran southpaw Matthew Boyd.
Joe Ryan Scratched From Start, Undergoing MRI
Twins ace Joe Ryan was a late scratch from his planned start in today’s Grapefruit League game with the Red Sox. As per a pair of announcements from the Twins, Ryan is dealing with lower back tightness on his right side, and is undergoing an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
More will be known once the tests are complete, and it is entirely possible this just a case of early-camp soreness as Ryan starts to ramp up his throwing progression. Still, Ryan’s back issue merits some obvious concern given that Pablo Lopez‘s 2026 season is already a wash due to a Tommy John surgery. Losing Lopez was a huge blow to a Minnesota team that looked like a fringe contender at best, and if Ryan is now sidelined with any sort of notable injury, the Twins’ season might be ruined before it even gets underway.
Beyond the impact on the Twins, Ryan is slated to be part of the United States’ roster during the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Even if the back problem ends up being relatively minor, the Twins might well pull Ryan out of the WBC as a pure precaution, and if he needs to make up for any lost innings in Spring Training.
Ryan is coming off the first All-Star season of his career, as the right-hander posted a 3.42 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate, and 5.7% walk rate across 171 innings. While Ryan has a penchant for allowing hard contact and is a little homer-prone, his numbers over the last four seasons (3.78 ERA, 5.7% walk rate, 27.5K% over 614 2/3 IP) have established him as a front-of-the-rotation arm. Ryan has been relatively durable over that four-year span with the Twins, apart from a teres major strain that ended his 2024 season in August.
There has been plenty of trade speculation surrounding Ryan over the last year, but the Twins held onto Ryan amidst their large-scale selloff at last summer’s trade deadline. Ryan isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2027 season, so these two years of inexpensive arbitration control make him a particular bargain for the budget-conscious Twins. If Minnesota is out of contention again at this year’s deadline, expect the trade rumors to again swirl around Ryan, assuming he’s healthy and still in good form.
Pablo López Diagnosed With UCL Tear
The Twins received brutal injury news this morning, as right-hander Pablo López has been diagnosed with tearing in his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament, general manager Jeremy Zoll announced to reporters (via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). He’s going for a second opinion, but season-ending surgery is on the table for López.
López felt some elbow discomfort following a recent bullpen session. The Twins sent him for imaging but framed that as a precautionary measure. The situation has obviously taken a dramatic turn for the worse. The vast majority of UCL tears require surgical repair, whether it’s an internal brace to repair/strengthen the existing ligament or a full reconstruction (“Tommy John”) procedure. Either situation would end López’s season before it begins.
The 29-year-old López missed considerable time with injury in 2025, making it into only 14 games and pitching 75 2/3 innings. A Grade 2 strain of López’s teres major muscle was the primary issue, but he finished the 2025 campaign on the shelf due to a forearm strain. He was excellent when on the field, working to a 2.74 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in 75 2/3 frames.
Now-former president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said early in the offseason that López could have kept pitching through what the team described as a mild forearm strain had the club been in postseason contention. The veteran righty, who’ll be 30 early next month, had a normal offseason. It seems the UCL tear is a new injury that popped up in camp (although even if there was a quiet inkling of a UCL issue late last season, the timing would remain largely unchanged; López would’ve been expected to miss the 2026 season regardless).
López’s injury is a gut-punch to an already thin Twins roster. Starting pitching depth is an organizational strength, but many of the options in camp are well-regarded young hurlers who’ve not yet established themselves in the big leagues. The López injury puts righty Joe Ryan in line as Minnesota’s Opening Day starter. He’ll be followed by bounceback hopeful Bailey Ober (who was hobbled by a hip injury last year) and out-of-options righty Simeon Woods Richardson — a former top prospect who had a nice 14-start finish to his 2025 season after being optioned earlier in the year.
The Twins are deep in rotation upside beyond that trio. Right-handers David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley (acquired at the deadline for Griffin Jax) and Mick Abel (acquired at the deadline for Jhoan Duran) ranked as top-100 prospects prior to their big league debuts. Left-hander Connor Prielipp is currently on a handful of top-100 lists himself. Righty Andrew Morris (the Twins’ fourth-rounder in 2022) and southpaw Kendry Rojas (the headliner in the Twins’ trade of Louis Varland) are both well-regarded arms who rank among the top 15 or so of the team’s prospects and aren’t terribly far from MLB readiness.
Any of those younger arms could step up as a contributor in one of the final two spots in Minnesota’s rotation, but it’s unlikely any of the bunch can replace what a healthy López would bring to the table. The right-hander has a solid 3.61 ERA over his past 141 major league starts (795 innings) and has fanned 26% of opponents against a 6.3% walk rate in that time. López’s blend of plus strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates with the Twins has led to slightly better marks from metrics like SIERA (3.41) and FIP (3.44). The 2023 All-Star hasn’t put everything together for a truly dominant ace-caliber season yet, but most fans and pundits believed him to be capable of doing so; he finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting during that ’23 campaign.
The Twins signed López to a four-year, $73.5MM extension shortly after acquiring him. That deal covered the 2024-27 seasons. López is signed for 2026 and 2027 at $21.75MM apiece, making him the highest-paid player on a stripped-down Twins roster that traded 11 players at last year’s deadline and has only made modest (at best) additions to the roster this winter. The Twins have signed Josh Bell, Victor Caratini and Taylor Rogers to big league deals and also added relievers Anthony Banda and Eric Orze via trade. They have a long list of recognizable veterans in camp on non-roster deals: Gio Urshela, Orlando Arcia, Andrew Chafin, Liam Hendriks, Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman and Julian Merryweather.
Newly installed executive chair Tom Pohlad, who took over for his younger brother Joe earlier in the winter, has recently spoken openly about the Twins’ ability to further add to the payroll. He recently confirmed to The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman that his club took a late run at Framber Valdez after the lefty lingered on the market and put forth a multi-year offer that was outbid by the division-favorite Tigers.
That certainly doesn’t mean the Twins will go out and make an external addition, but there are still some options if they hope to do so. Right-handers Lucas Giolito and former Twin Zack Littell are among the more notable names who do not yet have a home for the upcoming 2026 season. The Twins are deep in lefty-swinging outfielders and could try to strike up a deal with an Astros club that has long been trying to acquire just that, and there’s a handful of other veteran starters whose names have at least loosely surfaced in trade chatter throughout the winter (e.g. Brady Singer, Patrick Sandoval).
It’s not clear how high the newest Pohlad family member holding the executive chair position is willing to bump the team’s payroll, but the late run at Valdez at least suggests some openness. That should only be natural, however, as the Twins’ payroll is down more than $30MM from last season and more than $50MM from its 2023 peak, when they approached $160MM. There ought to be room to add someone like Giolito, Littell, Sandoval, etc. without breaking the bank. If the team doesn’t stay afloat in the standings through the first few months, that player could be marketed ahead of the trade deadline alongside other veteran trade options.