Guardians path to AL Central title gets a bit easier thanks to latest Twins injury 

Every year there are countless MLB players whose seasons are derailed due to a spring training injury. 

And even though we haven’t gotten to the official start of spring training games, we already have our first big spring training injury.

On Tuesday, Minnesota Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll announced that starting pitcher Pablo López had been diagnosed with a UCL tear in his right elbow. While Zoll said that López is planning on getting a second opinion, it looks like there’s a good chance the injury could be season-ending. 

Even if the Twins likely weren’t going to be a huge factor in the Guardians’ quest toward their third straight American League Central title, López’s injury all but confirms that the Twins will be an afterthought in the division. 

Pablo López’s injury confirms the Guardians will have an easier path toward winning the American League Central 

López’s arm first started barking during a bullpen session earlier this week, and he underwent imaging that ended up showing the tear to his UCL. More often than not, UCL injuries require some kind of invasive surgery, whether it be an internal brace or fully Tommy John. 

The former All-Star was coming off an injury-riddled season, as he only managed to throw 75 2/3 innings (though he did post a 2.74 ERA in that time frame). 

While most of the time he missed was due to a major muscle strain, he missed the final two weeks of the season due to a forearm strain that popped up in his start against the Guardians on Sept. 19. 

It turns out that was a precursor for a more serious injury that has put his 2026 season in serious jeopardy. Per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, the injury popped up three innings into his live pitching session. He was also set to pitch for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. 

Even though the Twins have a variety of young pitchers who can step into López’s role, none of them are incredibly established outside of Joe Ryan. 

Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley and Mick Abel have all shown flashes, but they all project to be No. 3 or 4 options in a rotation. Now they’re all going to move up a rung. 

While the Twins shied away from trading away Bryan Buxton this offseason, López’s injury is a huge blow to a roster that was already a bit thin. 

The Guardians are going to need a lot of things to break their way if they want to three-peat in the American League Central, and beating up on teams like the Twins will be the best way to make that happen.