'Tough pill to swallow': López to miss 8-12 weeks with Grade 2 shoulder strain

WEST SACRAMENTO – The Twins will be without their Opening Day starter for at least two months. Right-hander Pablo López has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain of the teres major muscle in his right shoulder, and the club estimates he will miss 8-12 weeks.

It’s a significant blow to López and the team. López, whose 2.82 ERA leads Minnesota’s starters, suffered the injury on Tuesday night in a win against the Athletics. The team announced the diagnosis during Wednesday’s 6-1 win.

Initial examination suggested a latissimus dorsi (lat) strain, and López had been hopeful of a less severe assessment, but imaging Wednesday revealed the specific nature and seriousness of the injury.

“I hated the idea [of missing] yesterday, I hate it today,” said López. “I’m going to hate every single second and day of it. But I was hopeful. I’m not going to lie to you guys. I was hopeful, based on the things I felt, the way I was feeling this morning. I was like, ‘It feels more like soreness really than anything.’ I was hoping it was going to be a Grade 1.”

The teres major is a small muscle in the back of the shoulder that sits just above the lat. It attaches to the shoulder blade and the humerus (upper arm bone) and assists the lat in extension and rotation of the arm.

It’s the same muscle and grade of strain that sidelined right-hander Joe Ryan for the final two months of the 2024 season. According to a release from the club, López will not be able to begin a throwing program for at least four weeks.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” López said. “You feel that you’re not a part of something. Even though I know I am, it’s just not being available to perform, not being available to contribute. It really takes a hit on me.

“The mental side is what’s going to be eating me alive for a while. It’s just that itch, knowing that every day that passes is games I’m not participating in. So, the options are simple. I either choose to drown myself in tears of sorrow, or I choose to power through, grow internally, externally, grow physically, grow emotionally, and just make sure that when the time comes, that I will be able to come back.”

With López officially placed on the 15-day injured list, right-hander David Festa was activated to take López’s roster spot and start Thursday’s series finale against the A’s.

López had been exceptionally durable. Prior to this year, he had not missed a start since 2021, when he was still a member of the Miami Marlins. But he missed two starts due to a strained right hamstring in April, and now the team must prepare to do without him for a more extended period, though there is every expectation he will pitch again in 2025.

“We’re just going to aim at getting back on the field in the most responsible fashion and let him heal up fully,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “But I truly believe he’s going to be out there pitching for us, [and] probably not at the very end of the year. We’re talking like he’ll be able to pitch significantly for us this year. We’re going to stay optimistic and let him do his thing.”

Festa pitched well -- though not efficiently -- in an earlier stint with the Twins, when López first went to the IL. The club has made that efficiency a key point for him, and in recent starts at Triple-A he has shown progress in that regard, throwing more sinkers to get more outs early in counts.

Minnesota also has Simeon Woods Richardson, who began the year in the Major League rotation but was demoted after a series of short starts, as an option in St. Paul. He had been pitching well at Triple-A until his last start, when he allowed three home runs.

It’s also possible that the Twins could look to the trade market to bolster their rotation. The team is built around its pitching, and though Minnesota is not generally known to make big deadline moves, the loss of López could spur the front office to think about adding a starter before July 31.