Minnesota Twins starter Pablo López was pulled from a live batting practice session on February 16 after feeling elbow soreness. Manager Derek Shelton described it as a minor issue, but the team will conduct imaging to assess severity. López was preparing for the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela.
In Fort Myers, Florida, at Hammond Stadium's main field, Pablo López threw two-plus simulated innings against hitters during spring training. He was slightly ahead of his usual schedule to ready himself for pitching in the World Baseball Classic for Venezuela. However, after the second pitch of his third inning, López experienced soreness in his elbow and ended the session early.
Manager Derek Shelton explained the decision: “I mean, obviously, it's February 16, and I think he and [pitching coach Pete Maki] had a little bit of a conversation on the second pitch he threw during the third up and felt some soreness. And after he and Pete talked, we decided, out of an abundance of caution, let's get him off, let's get him off the field and make sure he's OK. So, you know, we will have more information. We'll get some imaging on it, just because of how important it is and he is to us.”
The Twins plan to image López's elbow to determine the extent of the issue. López has been the starter for each of the past three Twins season openers. In the previous season, he recorded a 5-4 record with a 2.74 ERA over 75 2/3 innings but spent time on the injured list three times due to a hamstring injury, a muscle injury in the back of his right shoulder, and a forearm strain. Before that year, he demonstrated durability with 32 starts in each of the prior three seasons.
Shelton praised López's self-care: “I don't know if anybody in that room takes care of himself as well as Pablo does, not only during the season, but in the offseason. And the fact that he has awareness of his body, and he and Pete have a strong relationship, and we're able to have a conversation. It was like, OK, let's hold off and take a look here and kind of move on from that.”
