MLB Injury Report – Spring Training Injuries

Welcome to the Fantrax MLB Injury Report. In today’s edition, the worst-case scenario for Pablo Lopez came true, Jordan Westburg’s future became murky, and Gerrit Cole takes a huge step forward. Read about this and so much more in today’s MLB Injury Report from Fantrax.

Spring Training MLB Injury Report

Pablo Lopez – SP Minnesota Twins

Pablo López will have season-ending Tommy John surgery Wednesday.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) February 20, 2026

Lopez injured himself while throwing a live batting practice session earlier this week when something didn’t feel right in his elbow. A day later, an MRI revealed the tear, and the team later decided on the operation. This will be the second time that Lopez will undergo Tommy John surgery, and thus, his timeline for recovery may become longer than what’s normally expected when someone has this type of procedure. It’s a brutal blow to the Twins, who are in the middle of a rebuild and could use his veteran presence to guide and mold the rest of the pitching staff. While this closes the door on his season, it actually opens the door for opportunities. The Twins are ripe with young players looking to build on past failures. Zebby Matthews now gets a chance to build on last year’s struggles and slides in as the team’s fifth rotation arm. Both he and Taj Bradley are worth late-round dart throws in drafts to see if they can get closer to their potential.

Jordan Westburg – 3B Baltimore Orioles

Orioles’ Jordan Westburg has a partially torn UCL, Mike Elias says. Will undergo PRP injection and be out through at least the end of April. Possible he returns as a DH at first.

— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) February 20, 2026

This is an awful situation for Westburg, as he is fighting to shake off an injury-prone label that is slowly growing. He came into camp already injured with an oblique ailment that didn’t allow him to do much of anything with the team. Now, this injury will set him back even further, resulting in significant time missed. When he does return, it will be strictly as a batter, and even then, it’s unclear how he’ll perform. Look for Coby Mayo and Blaze Alexander to get opportunities, with the former to probably be the everyday third baseman. He has enough prospect promise to be worth something of value in fantasy leagues while Westburg is out of commission.

Jackson Holliday – 2B Baltimore Orioles

Jackson Holliday gets the stitches out of his right hand Monday. Can start sweating after that. Can gradually begin activities. Said it feels good. Doesn’t think it looks good but docs assured him that’s how the hand’s supposed to look. He’s taking their word for it. #orioles

— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) February 18, 2026

The team should get a better sense of Holliday’s status and potential 2026 debut timeline after the stitches are removed on Monday. However, as described, the journey to get himself healthy and in game shape begins then. The team already announced that he will begin the season on the Injured List, though it’s unclear if that will be a minimum stay or extended. Chances are, he won’t miss much time, but he may need a rehab assignment to get himself game-ready.

Corbin Carroll – OF Arizona Diamondbacks

Since the day of the injury, the team has maintained that this would be a very minimal absence for Carroll. He himself has been adamant that he would be ready for Opening Day. Recently, he was seen taking one-armed swings to get his timing down. He is working hard to make this dream become a reality. It’s unclear whether his performance will drop once he’s back, since he likely won’t have been able to participate in any games.

Tampa Bay Rays – Team Update

Couple #Rays medical updates from Port Charlotte:

RHP Edwin Uceta had an MRI on his "cranky" shoulder Thursday, is seeing Dr. Eaton today.

OF Chandler Simpson is dealing with a tight left hamstring. He is doing some on-field work but won't play in at least first several games.

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) February 20, 2026

The situation with Edwin Uceta is concerning, in that his shoulder is already “cranky” this early into camp. It could signify that he had a lackluster offseason or an underlying injury. Even if nothing significant comes from this, not having enough time at camp to ramp up could make for missed opportunities early in the season while he gets into his rhythm. At the end of the day, Griffin Jax feels like a big benefactor here and could run away with the closer’s job. As for Chandler Simpson, he has been working with Kevin Keirmaier as of late to help improve his defensive prowess. This could be a result of that, or just part of him getting off to a slow start to camp. Because most of his value is tied to his speed, the Rays are likely to take no chances here and let him get back to 100% before playing him.

Gerrit Cole – SP New York Yankees

This was a very important first step forward for Cole, who, by all accounts, looked like his old self in just his first live batting practice session. Hitting his velocity marks that high is a tremendous feat, and it would appear that he is on the right track. However, the next few days will be key in determining what’s next. How sore will his body be? Can he make his next scheduled bullpen session? Will his body on the mound continue the way it has? He is on the back half of his career, and as such, things don’t always heal the way that they would if someone were younger. Time will tell, but this was a great start.

Jared Jones – SP Pittsburgh Pirates

Much like the aforementioned Cole, this was an important day for Jared Jones as well. Throwing 15 pitches in total was huge, and, despite the radar guns not being on, there were accounts of him throwing in the mid-to-high-90’s, which is awesome. Again, though, how his body responds in the coming days will determine if this step was the first of many right now, or if he needs to hit the pause button on his recovery.

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