López is heading for a second opinion, but Zoll conceded that season-ending surgery is an option. The 29-year-old hurler was limited to just 14 starts during the 2025 season due to forearm, shoulder and hamstring issues. He then experienced soreness in his elbow while throwing a live batting practice session on Monday. The Twins should provide another update after López gets his second opinion, but the unfortunate expectation is that he won’t pitch at all during the 2026 season.

Some soreness is to be expected early in spring camp, and the Twins are calling it completely precautionary, but you never want to hear about pitchers needing to get imaging done on their elbow. All Twins’ fans and fantasy managers can do now is wait and hope for the best. Look for the Twins to provide an update on the right-hander’s status as soon as more information becomes available.

Kowar finds himself on the move for the third time since late January. The 29-year-old righty should be able to secure a spot in Baltimore’s bullpen as a low-leverage option after making 15 relief appearances for the Mariners this past season. He can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats.

It’s qualifies as a surprise that Chafin was forced to settle for a non-roster invite with the rebuilding Twins given his extensive experience as a high-leverage option at the highest level. The 35-year-old southpaw compiled a strong 2.41 ERA — 3.44 xERA — 1.43 WHIP and 36/19 K/BB ratio across 33 2/3 innings over 42 appearances between the Nationals and Angels last year. He’ll compete for a spot in Minnesota’s season-opening bullpen and offers some appeal for contenders in a couple months as a trade deadline target.

Laweryson returns to Minnesota a week after the Angels released him; iwth Los Angeles claiming him from the Twins back in September. He’ll provide some org depth this season.

The 29-year-old hurler was just claimed off of waivers from the Mariners last week, but the Twins needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster to add Anthony Banda on Thursday and Kowar was the odd man out. It’s possible that he could generate interest on waivers once more.

The 32-year-old southpaw had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers over the weekend, so they were willing to flip him for anything that they could get at this stage. Banda registered a 3.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 61/34 K/BB ratio over 65 innings as a key cog in the Dodgers’ bullpen during the 2025 season.

The 37-year-old hurler has thrown just 18 2/3 innings in the big leagues over the past three seasons, but as long as he’s healthy he could wind up being an integral part of the Twins’ bullpen. If he looks strong this spring, he could compete with Taylor Rogers and Justin Topa for save chances, making him worthy of a late-round flier in deeper mixed leagues.

Merryweather had a nice season with the Cubs in 2023, finishing with a 3.38 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 72 innings, but he’s battled some injuries since and amassed a 6.14 ERA with his velocity down about two mph these last two years. He still might be interesting in a Twins pen absent much strikeout potential.

It’s a full circle for Hendriks, who signed with the Twins as a teenager and made his major league debut for the club in 2011. One certainly can’t count on Hendriks staying healthy at age 37 after throwing just 18 2/3 innings in the majors the last three years, but if he does, there’s a good chance he’ll wind up leading the Twins in saves, given the state of their pen. If he impresses this spring, he could be worth a flier.