June 5 (UPI) — Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez was diagnosed with a Grade 2 right shoulder strain and will miss 8 to 12 weeks, the team announced.
The Twins announced Lopez’s diagnosis and potential timeline for return Wednesday night.
The right-handed pitcher sustained the injury in the fifth inning of a win over the Athletics on Tuesday in West Sacramento, Calif. He pulled himself out of the game after attempting to warmup before the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli initially said a preliminary examination of the shoulder revealed a lat strain and that the pitcher was likely headed to the injured list.
“We’re just going to aim at getting back on the field in the most responsible fashion and let him heal up fully,” Baldelli told reporters on Wednesday. “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.”
Lopez went 5-3 and posted the best ERA (2.82) among Twins starters through his first 11 starts this season. He allowed 51 hits and 19 earned runs, while tossing 61 strikeouts and issuing 14 walks over his first 60 2/3 innings pitched of 2025.
“I was hopeful,” Lopez said Wednesday, when asked about the injury. “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 eight-year veteran went 15-10 with a 4.08 ERA over 32 starts last season. He went 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA over another 32 starts in 2023 en route to his first All-Star selection.
“The mental side is what’s going to be eating me alive for a while,” Lopez said. “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.”
The Twins (34-27) sit in second place in the American League Central, six games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers (41-22). They will face the Athletics (23-40) in a series finale at 3:35 p.m. Thursday in West Sacramento.
