Twins' Pablo López to make first start in over three months
Pablo López will make his first Twins start since June 3 on Friday against the Kansas City Royals, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes. An official roster move has yet to be made, but Noah Davis will likely be the odd man out on the 28-man roster.
Pablo López has solid rehab assignment
López made his third and final start of his rehab assignment for Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings on 82 pitches with seven strikeouts and one walk. His fastball averaged 93.9 miles per hour and reached 95.6 miles per hour.
In his first start of his Triple-A rehab assignment, López, who has been sidelined since June 3 due to a right shoulder strain he suffered against the Athletics in Sacramento, surrendered one run on four hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings on Aug 21. In his second rehab appearance, López allowed three earned runs on six hits (one home run) and zero walks while striking out five in four innings on 68 pitches on Aug. 26.
Why are the Twins bringing Pablo López back at this point in the season?
After being swept by the Chicago White Sox in a four-game series at Target Field, the Twins get a much-needed morale boost with López's return. López is known for his positive attitude and competitiveness, which he can hopefully bring to the mound on Friday against Kansas City. Not that winning matters at this point for Minnesota, but López can still provide energy to a young team with numerous players trying to prove they belong in the major leagues.
There are a few reasons for López to return at this point in the season. One reason is, as stated earlier, to bring energy to a young team. Another is to give López some confidence going into the offseason, which would be difficult to do if he were to head into winter without having made an MLB start in four months.
It's very possible that Pablo López only makes a few more starts with the Twins before being traded
One final possible reason for bringing López back is to improve his trade stock. Moving López this winter would make it significantly more difficult for the Twins to compete in 2026, but many signs point toward him or Joe Ryan (or both) being traded. The Twins acquired three new starting pitchers (Mick Abel, Taj Bradley and Kendry Rojas) in their trade deadline fire sale, the primary goal of which was to shed salary and add young, inexpensive talent. Moving López, who is owed $43.5MM over the next two seasons, would be one way for the Twins to continue their trend of getting rid of expensive veterans and bolstering their farm system.