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Pablo López Diagnosed With UCL Tear

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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.

More to come.

Tony Clark To Step Down As MLBPA Executive Director

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10:07am: Angels lefty Brent Suter, another member of the eight-player MLBPA executive subcommittee, tells The Athletic’s Sam Blum that the union has an interim director in mind and is not planning to commence an external search at this time. “We’re going to have an interim [director] and keep everything as stable as we can this year,” says Suter.

8:23am: Tony Clark is preparing to announce his resignation as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, per a report from Evan Drellich, Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCullough of The Athletic. Clark has been in his current position since 2013.

The 53-year-old Clark and the union have been under investigation since last summer due to purported improprieties regarding the usage of licensing money. Specifically, Clark has previously been alleged to have given himself equity in OneTeam Partners — a joint venture between the MLBPA and NFLPA — and failed to have sufficiently disclosed the level of resources being dedicated to Players Way, an MLBPA-owned youth baseball initiative that is under federal investigation.

Clark had been scheduled to begin a tour of spring visits to the game’s 30 teams just this morning, but the first of those meetings (with the Guardians) was abruptly canceled. A statement is expected at some point today, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.

SNY’s Chelsea Janes reports that MLBPA executive subcommittee member Marcus Semien told reporters that his understanding of  the resignation is that it’s related to the Eastern District of New York’s investigation into the usage of licensing money. Semien noted that the subcommittee has not yet convened in the wake of the announcement, and he thus does not have a definitive answer as to when a new director will be appointed or whether deputy director Bruce Meyer will continue on as the union’s lead negotiator.

The timing of the move is of particular note. Major League Baseball’s current collective bargaining agreement expires in just over nine months. The last wave of collective bargaining talks between the Clark-led union and the Rob Manfred-led league/owners collective was contentious enough to result in a 99-day offseason lockout and transaction freeze.

An even more vitriolic battle is expected by many this time around, with several owners publicly digging in their heels regarding their belief that the sport needs to adopt a salary cap. Any sort of cap — even if accompanied by a salary floor — has been a nonstarter for every previous iteration of the players association; Clark has made no secret of his adamant anti-cap stance at virtually every given opportunity, and Meyer has been in lockstep with that mentality as the union’s lead negotiator and No. 2 executive.

Braves, Dominic Smith Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with first baseman Dominic Smith, per Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Roc Nation client will be a non-roster invitee in big league camp.

A former first-round pick and top prospect, Smith looked to be breaking out in 2019-20, when he slashed a combined .299/.366/.571 with 21 homers in only 396 plate appearances for the Mets. He tried to play through a small tear in his right shoulder’s labrum the following season and saw his numbers unsurprisingly crater. In 2024, Smith suffered a broken hamate bone in his right hand that required surgical repair, and surgeons suggested at the time that he may have had a stress reaction in that hand for several seasons, based on the way things looked in the aftermath of the injury.

From 2021-24, Smith tallied 1538 major league plate appearances but hit only .241/.311/.360 — nowhere close to that 2019-20 peak. Some degree of regression always seemed likely, but a decline so precipitous was nonetheless a bit surprising. Knowing with the benefit of hindsight that Smith was playing through multiple injuries of note help to explain that yearslong dip.

The 2025 season wasn’t back to peak levels, but Smith took 225 plate appearances with the Giants and posted an above-average .284/.333/.417 batting line (111 wRC+). He was heavily shielded from lefties and hit only .200/.259/.280 in 27 plate appearances versus southpaws, but Smith tagged righties at a stout .296/.343/.436 clip. He also posted a respectable .255/.333/.448 line in 45 games with the Yankees’ Triple-A club before landing in San Francisco.

There’s no obvious path to regular playing time in Atlanta for Smith — not with Matt Olson entrenched at first base and a rotation of four veterans to split time between the outfield and designated hitter (Jurickson Profar, Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Michael Harris II). Smith gives Atlanta some depth at first base in the event of an Olson injury, however, and he could step into a more prominent DH role if there’s an injury to any of those four outfielders.

The Braves’ bench is also pretty light on offense, with utilityman Brett Wisely and fourth outfielder Eli White penciled into roles at present due to both being out of minor league options. Smith isn’t your quintessential big lefty bat off the bench, but he’s coming off an above-average season at the plate (particularly against righties) and at least has some minimal experience in left field in addition to his large sample of work at first base.

The Braves only just reacquired Wisely last week (for cash) and as such certainly are not fully committed to giving him a roster spot. White can handle all three outfield positions while Jorge Mateo and Mauricio Dubon (who’ll start at shortstop while Ha-Seong Kim is on the injured list) give the Braves plenty of defensive versatility if they want to carry a more limited lefty bat like Smith on the bench to begin the season.

The Opener: Full Squad Workouts, Lopez, Extensions

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On the heels of one early-morning bombshell, here are three other things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Full squad workouts:

Most teams have fully begun Spring Training at this point, but a small handful of clubs will be having their first full-squad workout today as position players report to camp. The lone Grapefruit League team to which this applies is the Rays, but the Cactus League in Arizona will see the Guardians, Rockies, Brewers, and Mariners all host their first full-squad workouts today. Cedric Mullins (Rays), Jake McCarthy (Rockies), and Brendan Donovan (Mariners) are among the new faces that will be showing up in camp for clubs today, while the Mariners will also be welcoming first baseman Josh Naylor back into the fold after re-signing him back in November.

2. Lopez headed for MRI:

Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez is headed for imaging due soreness in his elbow. Lopez is one of the most important cogs in the Twins’ rotation but struggled to stay healthy last year, missing time with a Grade 2 strain of the teres major and a late-season forearm strain. The talented 29-year-old now appears to be starting this year’s Spring Training off on the wrong foot as well. More information about Lopez’s status and his potential timeline for a return to throwing should be available in the coming days. If Lopez winds up missing significant time, it will be worth keeping an eye on the Twins to see if they become players for one of the remaining starters on the market like Lucas Giolito or old friend Zack Littell. Minnesota made a late play for Framber Valdez before he signed with the division-rival Tigers.

3. Extension season:

There are only a few notable free agents left on the market, and major trades become increasingly rare as Spring Training gets underway. With many teams having more or less put a bow on their external additions, will teams start turning their attention towards extensions? It would certainly make sense, and in some corners of the league that process has already begun. The Dodgers signed Max Muncy to the fourth extension of his career earlier this month. The Padres turned to their front office and locked up president of baseball operations A.J. Preller on a multi-year deal. Neither of those moves were exactly shocking, but perhaps teams like the Cubs (Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki) and Mariners (J.P. Crawford, Randy Arozarena) could look to discuss keeping some of their top players around beyond the final year of their contract. An, as the A’s have already reminded us with their Jacob Wilson deal, spring is the most common time for pre-arbitration players to sign extensions as well.

Padres, Walker Buehler Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Padres are adding Walker Buehler on a minor league contract, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Excel Sports Management client will aim to win a rotation job during Spring Training.

San Diego continues to stockpile potential back-end starters. The Padres agreed to big league deals with Griffin Canning and Germán Márquez over the weekend. Buehler settles for a non-roster invitation, which seemingly puts him behind the other two veteran righties as camp gets underway. Canning is coming back from a June Achilles tear. He might begin the season on the injured list but should be in the rotation once he’s healthy.

The Friars have three locks for the Opening Day rotation: Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove. First-year skipper Craig Stammen implied last week that righty Randy Vásquez has a leg up on the fourth starter role after a solid finish last year. Márquez, Canning (if healthy) and JP Sears are the top options on the 40-man roster for the fifth starter job. Matt Waldron also remains on the 40-man but is out of options and coming off a rough season in Triple-A. Buehler joins Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales among the non-roster invitees.

A two-time All-Star, Buehler was a borderline ace for most of his time with the Dodgers. He hasn’t been the same since undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career in 2022. The surgery cost him the entire ’23 season, and he returned with a 5.38 ERA across 16 regular season starts the following year. Buehler pitched well in the postseason and wound up closing out the 2024 World Series. The Red Sox bet that was the beginning of a return to form, but his $21.05MM free agent deal with Boston was a disappointment.

Buehler was rocked for a 5.45 ERA across 23 appearances with the Red Sox. They flirted with a move to the bullpen before pulling the plug altogether, releasing him at the end of August. Buehler latched on with the Phillies and made three appearances to close the regular season. While he tossed 13 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Philadelphia, he only struck out eight of 57 batters faced (14%).

Opponents destroyed his four-seam fastball, hitting .277 with a .553 slugging percentage against the pitch. Buehler’s 94 mph average velocity was down a tick from the previous season and almost three miles per hour below where it had been between 2019-20. The spin rates on his four-seam fastball and knuckle-curve have dropped precipitously since his peak. He has had a much more difficult time missing bats, both within and outside the strike zone. Hitters have done a better job laying off stuff outside the zone, leading to a career-high 10.8% walk rate last season.

Although the trend lines aren’t encouraging, Buehler is only 31 and still has league average velocity. The Padres aren’t committed to a roster spot or a guaranteed salary, so there’s no harm in gauging his form during Spring Training. It should be mostly an open competition for at least one rotation spot.

Buehler might not begin the season in Triple-A if he doesn’t win the job. He was an Article XX(b) free agent — a player with six years of service time who finished last season on an MLB roster. Those players who sign minor league deals at least 10 days before Opening Day have a trio of opt-out dates under the collective bargaining agreement: five days before Opening Day, May 1, and June 1. Buehler can trigger an out clause and explore other opportunities during the final week of Spring Training if the Padres don’t commit to carrying him on the active roster.

A’s Could Get Zack Gelof Outfield Reps In Spring Training

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The A’s trade pickup of Jeff McNeil solidified second base, where the veteran is expected to play regularly. That pushed Zack Gelof out of the projected starting lineup. The former second-round pick had an impressive half-season as a rookie back in 2023 but has struggled with strikeouts and injuries over the past two years.

Gelof enters camp slightly behind schedule after undergoing surgery to fix a dislocated left shoulder at the end of last season. Gelof is a little delayed in his ramp-up offensively, but Martín Gallegos of MLB.com writes that he can participate fully in defensive drills. He’s not only taking those at second base but in center field to prepare for a potential utility role. Manager Mark Kotsay said that Gelof could see outfield work in games this spring.

The 26-year-old hasn’t played anywhere other than second base in a major league game. Gelof has more than 2000 innings over 237 MLB appearances at the keystone, grading as a slightly above-average defender. The only other position at which he has any significant experience is third base. He played the hot corner at the University of Virginia and during his first year or so in the minor leagues. He didn’t play the outfield at all in college and has nine innings there as a professional — one Double-A game as a center fielder in 2022.

Gelof is a good athlete and an above-average runner. The A’s won’t be able to tell how his instincts and reads will play in the outfield without getting him reps out there. Spring Training is the best time to experiment with different roles. It’d certainly be a big help to Gelof’s chances of making the roster if he’s capable of building defensive versatility. Most teams only carry four position players on the bench to maximize a 13-man pitching staff. Using one of those roster spots on a player who only plays second base isn’t ideal. Gelof has a pair of minor league options and would head back to Triple-A Las Vegas if he doesn’t break camp.

The A’s have Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler in the corner outfield. They’re likely to give Denzel Clarke the first opportunity in center field. Clarke is a phenomenal defender but has massive strikeout rates, so the A’s may not want to live with that tradeoff all season. Gelof isn’t likely to push Clarke for everyday playing time in center. He’s only a year removed from leading the American League in strikeouts himself, and he’s almost certainly not going to defend at the same level that Clarke does. There’s an opening for a fourth outfielder, while Gelof’s old third base position is also up for grabs in camp. Waiver claim Andy Ibáñez joins holdovers Max Muncy, Brett Harris and Darell Hernaiz in that mix.

Mike Trout Prefers To Return To Center Field

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It appears Mike Trout is set to return to his old position. The future Hall of Famer told reporters this morning that he hopes to be primarily a center fielder this season (links via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com and Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). General manager Perry Minasian and skipper Kurt Suzuki are evidently aligned with that plan.

“I talked to (Suzuki). I definitely want to play center,” the three-time MVP said. “I told him I’ll play anywhere but obviously prefer center. It was good communication with him and Perry and they’re on board with it.” Suzuki said that Trout will also continue to see work in the corners during Spring Training but sounded broadly open to giving him significant playing time up the middle. “We’ll keep our options open, but he does prefer center, so we’ll take a look,” the manager told reporters.

It’s not completely out of nowhere, as Minasian said as far back as December that the team wasn’t closing the door on Trout getting some center field action. It seems that’ll be more than just part-time work, though it’s not clear how much of a defensive workload he’ll be able to log in his age-34 season.

That was the impetus for moving Trout off center field a year ago. The Angels felt the position was putting too much physical stress and contributing to his unfortunate series of injuries. Trout didn’t play a single inning up the middle last season. He moved to right field and started 22 games before sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee. He missed most of May and was a full-time designated hitter for the remainder of the season.

Trout disagreed with the premise that right field was any less of a physical burden. “Honestly, I felt like when I was in center, it was less on my body,” he said today. “Right field felt like I was running a lot. It’s just a preference thing. Talking to some other outfielders, they feel the same way sometimes, that center is less on your legs. I just feel more confident in center.” Although Trout didn’t have a huge sample of right field work off which to base that assessment, it’s hardly surprising he feels more comfortable with his reads at a position where he has more than 11,000 innings of experience.

At his age and with a history of lower body injuries, Trout is unlikely to be a plus defensive center fielder. He remains a slightly above-average runner at full speed, so he could probably play close to average defense. That’d be a marked improvement over Jo Adell, who was one of the worst defensive center fielders in MLB and should be a right fielder. Whether Trout can stay healthy is the much bigger question, though it’s perhaps notable that many of his recent injuries have come either as a hitter or while running the bases.

Playing Trout in center would allow the Halos to use Adell and Josh Lowe primarily in the corners. They’d have Jorge Soler mostly in the DH role. Trout will surely still see a fair bit of DH action as semi-rest days. Soler would draw into a corner on those occasions with either Adell or Lowe moving to center in what would be a lackluster defensive group. Bryce Teodosio is the best defensive outfielder on the roster but has hit like a fifth outfielder. Jose Siri is in camp on a minor league deal as an alternative to Teodosio for an all-glove depth role. Prospect Nelson Rada is likely ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season but might be the team’s best all-around center field option by midseason.

Trout has five seasons remaining on his $360MM extension. He’ll make $35.45MM per season between 2026-30.

Pablo López Headed For Imaging With Elbow Soreness

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The Twins are sending starter Pablo López for an MRI after he experienced elbow soreness during a live batting practice session this morning (links via Dan Hayes of The Athletic and Matthew Leach of MLB.com). The righty had thrown two innings in a workout before experiencing the discomfort in what would have been his third frame.

To this point, the Twins are framing the situation as precautionary. There’s certainly no reason for López to pitch through any kind of discomfort in the middle of February. It nevertheless comes as a concern any time a pitcher experiences elbow discomfort. That’s particularly true in López’s case, as he’s coming off a season that was cut short by a pair of arm injuries.

López suffered a Grade 2 teres major strain in his shoulder last June. He missed three months. The veteran was able to get back on the mound in early September, hoping to build positive momentum going into the offseason. That was not to be, as he experienced forearm soreness that shut him down for the year after three September starts. His velocity in those appearances was back to where it had been before the shoulder injury. The forearm soreness could have been a residual effect of the layoff. The Twins didn’t seem especially concerned, announcing in early November that he would not have any restrictions over the offseason.

Minnesota also took López (and essentially all their other veteran players) off the trade market. They’d been very aggressive deadline sellers but are going into the season with expectations to compete for a playoff spot. It remains to be seen if that’s wishful thinking, but new ownership control person Tom Pohlad has said repeatedly over the past few weeks that he believes this roster capable of contending. Any optimism is built largely around the rotation, which could have an excellent one-two punch with López and Joe Ryan. If the former misses any time, an already uphill path to a playoff spot becomes more difficult.

The Twins have a decent amount of upside in the starting staff. Simeon Woods Richardson, Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Zebby Matthews and David Festa are all in the mix for rotation spots. Prospects Kendry Rojas, Connor Prielipp and Andrew Morris probably need more time at Triple-A but are on the 40-man roster. Any of them could factor in at some point this year. There’s reason for optimism with everyone in that group, but all of those pitchers who have logged MLB time have had their share of ups and downs. They’ll also probably need some of these pitchers to factor into a patchwork bullpen if they’re to put together a contending pitching staff.

López has a Tommy John surgery in his history, undergoing the procedure when he was an 18-year-old prospect back in 2014. He’d been very durable for most of his MLB career. A rotator cuff injury cost him a couple months in 2021, but he didn’t miss a start in any of the next three seasons. He was limited to 14 outings last year but was as effective as ever on a rate basis. López turned in a 2.74 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate over 75 2/3 innings.

Mets, Mike Tauchman Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mets are in agreement with veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman on a minor league contract, report Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Meister Sports Management client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee once he completes a physical.

It’s a good landing spot for Tauchman, who has a path to breaking camp. The Mets are moving Juan Soto to left field and have Luis Robert Jr. in center. That leaves right field as the biggest question going into the season. New York signed former Royals outfielder MJ Melendez last week. He’s on the 40-man roster but has a minor league option remaining. Melendez signed a split contract that’d pay him at a lower rate for time spent in Triple-A. He’s hardly a lock to make the team.

Tauchman’s biggest competition probably comes from top prospect Carson Benge. The door is open for the 23-year-old, whom most scouts consider the top position player in the system. Benge, a first-round pick in 2024, raked at both the High-A and Double-A levels last year. He didn’t have good numbers in his first 24 Triple-A contests, slashing .188/.272/.311 there to close the year. That’d point toward him beginning this season in the minors. However, Benge’s 18% strikeout rate and 92 mph average exit velocity against Triple-A pitching suggest the results may have simply been bad luck rather than any kind of speed bump.

Benge’s play in Spring Training might be a bigger factor in whether Tauchman makes the team than how well the veteran outfielder performs. The Mets don’t have many bench spots available. Tyrone Taylor is locked into the fourth outfield role, while Mark Vientos will be on the MLB roster barring a surprise trade. Backup catcher Luis Torrens has a third bench spot secure, and they’ll likely want a depth infielder who can play shortstop regardless of whether Francisco Lindor returns from a hamate injury by Opening Day. Vidal Bruján and Ronny Mauricio are the top competitors for that job.

The Mets have a good idea of what to expect from Tauchman if he breaks camp. He’s a high-OBP corner outfielder who has been a little better than average at the plate in three consecutive seasons. The lefty hitter is coming off a .263/.356/.400 showing with nine home runs across 385 plate appearances for the White Sox. Teams have viewed him more as a quality depth piece than a roster fixture, and he has been non-tendered by the Cubs and White Sox over the past two offseasons.

Yankees Outright Yanquiel Fernandez

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The Yankees are outrighting Yanquiel Fernandez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the team announced. The outfielder was designated for assignment last week, shortly after the team claimed him off waivers from the Rockies. Fernandez will be in MLB Spring Training with New York.

New York was able to get the former top prospect through waivers, allowing the club to retain him as depth. With Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger back, it’s a crowded position for the Yankees. The plethora of veteran outfielders could leave Jasson Dominguez without a roster spot. Triple-A standout Spencer Jones is also on the verge of contributing in the majors. It’s a lengthy list for Fernandez to leapfrog, but he has the pedigree to make an impact if everything breaks his way.

The 23-year-old Fernandez was one of the organization’s brightest stars heading into last season. He ranked third on MLB.com’s list of Colorado’s top prospects. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs had the outfielder at fifth coming into the year. Fernandez has seemed to hit a roadblock at the upper levels, though. He’s slashed a mediocre .259/.320/.437 in 97 games at Triple-A the past two years. A .757 OPS is far from a failure, but the stat line did come at the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Fernandez got his first look in the big leagues this past year, and it went poorly. He delivered a 55 wRC+ across 147 plate appearances. Fernandez’s strikeout rate pushed 30% with the Rockies. The one positive for the outfielder was getting to show off his absolute cannon of an arm. Fernandez averaged an absurd 97.2 mph on his throws from right field, which ranked in the 100th percentile. He was a slightly negative defender by Outs Above Average, but the arm strength was apparent.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

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