Pablo López took a meaningful step in his recovery on Friday, and it came with the kind of small but important progress that can make a long rehab feel real.
Before the Twins opened their series in San Diego at Petco Park, López threw a baseball for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in February. Manager Derek Shelton watched as López played catch from about 30 to 45 feet in a brief session, a modest distance that still represented a major checkpoint in the 30-year-old right-hander’s path back.
López said the moment carried plenty of nerves, but the work itself went smoothly.
“It felt good, and what a place to do it, San Diego is perfect,” López said. “It was nerve wracking.
I felt like I was warming up to throw a postseason game, because they let me do my normal pre-throw routine, which I had to figure out on the spot. I was trying to remember.
So I went through some muscle memory, transitioned from one station to the other. But once I got out there, I was able to just feel the arm path.
From such a short distance, 30-45 feet, there’s not going to be a lot of air under the ball. It’s really just getting into a good rhythm, feeling your tempo.”
Shelton came away encouraged as well.
“It’s a large step,” he said. “His arm was moving forward and there was a baseball that came out of it.
Even though it was only 30 feet and 45 feet, I think it was very encouraging. He left with a smile, I think I left with a smile.”
The session came after López received clearance to play catch in a recent follow-up with Dr. Keith Meister in Texas. That was the confirmation he had been waiting for after a spring that turned into a rehab detour almost immediately.
López’s elbow trouble began after a live bullpen session was cut short during the Twins’ first full-squad workout of Spring Training in February because of right elbow soreness. An MRI later showed significant tearing of his ulnar collateral ligament, and after a second opinion from Meister, surgery was recommended and eventually performed in late February.
For López, hearing that his arm had healed enough to begin throwing again carried real weight.
“It’s the biggest green light that you’re looking for,” López said. “I could check all the boxes, I could feel good every step of the way, but not until you hear the doctor saying, ‘It’s healed,’ you don’t get that full green light. That was all the affirmation I needed to make sure that I went into today [knowing] I was just going to be able to go out there, feel normal with my routine, and then, obviously, take it easy.
“I just wanted to have good rhythm, and whatever came out of my hand today, is what it is, but I’m very happy with how it went.”
The next phase is straightforward in theory, if not in timing: López has to gradually build up both volume and distance in his catch-play work before moving on to whatever comes next. The timetable for that progression remains unclear.
This is López’s second Tommy John recovery; he also had the procedure in 2014 while in the Mariners organization. And while he’s been sidelined, he’s stayed unusually close to the Twins’ day-to-day life.
He’s made appearances on the club’s TV and radio broadcasts, including spots on the pregame and postgame shows. He’s charted pitches from the dugout, acted as an interpreter for media interviews and even taken photos that the Twins posted on social media when the team was in Iowa for the Field of Dreams Game on Aug. 13.
“Doing all those little side quests has been really fulfilling,” López said.
Shelton clearly appreciated the extra work López has taken on, but he also sounded relieved to see the pitcher inch back toward the mound.
“For as good a human being as he is,” Shelton said, “to be able to start crossing hurdles to get back to doing what he should be doing instead of broadcasting games or translating -- or whatever else he’s doing -- I’m just really excited we’re going to get to watch him do what we actually pay him to do.”
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