With Pablo López out for the season, what’s the outlook for the Twins rotation?

FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins spent much of the offseason, and the first few days of camp, touting the top of their starting rotation as one of the reasons they could potentially surprise people this year.

Pablo López was almost always the first name mentioned. The three-time Opening Day starter and 2023 All-Star was the staff ace.

And now, the Twins will likely have to learn how to navigate the upcoming season without him. One day into full-squad workouts, the Twins learned López has a “significant tear” in an elbow ligament, which is expected to require season-ending Tommy John surgery.

How do the Twins move forward?

“We spent a lot of this offseason talking about the strength of our roster being in the rotation depth and we view it as a real opportunity as next man up,” Twins General Manager Jeremy Zoll said.

Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are the most experienced pitchers on the Twins staff. Taj Bradley, Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel highlight the younger starters who are trying to establish themselves at the big league level.

López “is the ultimate competitor and ultimate teammate,” Ober said, adding it was unfortunate “that this type of stuff happens to a guy like him. But we’re optimistic still about the season. I think that’s why you have so much depth on the starter side in case this happens.

López was sidelined with a shoulder strain last June, which cost him three months, and it felt like the injury tanked the Twins season. The Twins had a 33-27 record at the time of López’s injury, and they went 18-30 over their next 48 games leading into their epic trade deadline sell-off.

The timing of López’s latest injury created some whiplash. Players were excited to begin camp, looking forward to the season, and then within a few hours given brutal news.

“It was just a little weird vibe, but I think we’re still moving,” Ober said. “It’s early in camp. A lot of guys are still high energy. It’s not like it was a damper on everything that is going on. It’s just something that you hate to see, and sadly it’s part of this game.”

There is no replacing what López brought to the mound externally with one player. The top free agent starters available are Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell and Max Scherzer. Ace pitchers rarely are traded, let alone during spring training.

The Twins’ motto throughout spring training, which is written on daily schedules and whiteboards inside the clubhouse, is “Hunt the Good.” Manager Derek Shelton heard strength coach Chuck Bradway use the phrase during a staff retreat in Minneapolis last month, and Shelton wants the team to rally around it.

“The mood is OK,” Shelton said. “There’s not going to be a team the entire year that goes without losing their key guys for a stretch of time.”

Since Sonny Gray’s departure after the 2023 season, Ryan and Ober already felt like they were in leadership roles among the starting pitchers. Neither felt like they had to change the way they are approaching the season.

“We have a lot of really good starting pitching depth,” Ryan said. “We still can be competitive and be in a really good spot.”

López plans to remain around the team as much as he can despite the injury. He already told teammates, “I’ll be here,” if they want his advice.