Pablo López is the Minnesota Twins' ace. When you get the opening day start three years in a row, when you win the franchise's first postseason game in two decades, when walk into Houston in game two of the ALDS and knock off the Astros in an incredibly difficult and hostile environment? You are the "ace".
López will again anchor the Twins pitching staff that has some high expectations, but still needs to deliver. He's the veteran on a staff full of young talent and he knows his role.
This week at Spring Training, López sat down with WCCO's Jason DeRusha to talk about all of that and more.
Pablo, how are you feeling?
Feel great. Feel great. Just happy that baseball's back. It's 8:15. I got here at 6:00, got a bike ride in, and I feel good. Spring training is such a fun routine to get back in the groove of baseball, get back to catching up with everyone. There's new faces, opportunities to introduce yourself, pick their brains like, 'hey, back with your team what was your philosophy? What can you add to our culture, our philosophy?' And then we just get to do a lot of team bonding. We get to go and practice, defense play, shag batting practice, work out together. So it's a really, really fun atmosphere that I was very anxious to participate. When January comes around, I know spring training is almost here, and I just want to show up and it's just a fun opportunity to do what we love and continue adding to the dynasty, the culture, the philosophy we want to build.
You're back home in the offseason. What were you working on this year?
I was working on replicating a lot of the good things I was feeling with my mechanics in the second half of 2024. I was able to find a good rhythm with some exercises, some drills that gave me good muscle memory. When things are feeling right, this is what I'm feeling on the mound. Also you have to strike a balance during a season to like feel those things while trying to get people out. So the offseason allowed me to like really tinker with those drills. OK, how can I feel what I feel, maybe just extend it for a little bit longer? Oh, I didn't like that. Let me just take it out. So it was just repetition and replicating good mechanics with every single pitch, just to make sure that I made everything as consistent and as tight as possible.
Do you work with a team? With a coach? Who do you work with? Is it just you?
I work with former teammates, players from other teams, and we just have a good rapport. I trained with a reliever with the Houston Astros, one of my best friends, Luis Contreras. We're from the same hometown. We went to three national tournaments when we were growing up, so we both live in Miami. We both trained at the same place, so it was huge. And it's really cool when you get feedback from the people you play catch with, feedback from other players. So I think it just builds a good relationship and a good awareness of, this is the feedback I want from how the ball is moving, where the ball is going. Hey, did that stay through the target or to the target? So like, hearing those things from someone that also is in the game just gives me a better idea of like this is how I want to operate.
Expectations are high for the pitching staff this year. How do you feel about your kind of starting crew?
I feel that we want to turn those expectations into standards this year. We know that with this, we know what this pitching staff can do. We saw all of the young guys last year stepped up and took a step forward, and I can already see them during this camp spring training. They look more confident, they look more comfortable, and I think this pitching staff can really carry this team, both the starting rotation and the bullpen. The bullpen is lights out, either like people that could be in a longer reliever role, and the people that are like the high leverage, the closers, the setups, like it's just electricity all-around. So this pitching staff has a lot of strength and depth. If we stay on top of our routines, if we stay healthy, if we can remain available, in my case every fifth day, then we're going to be in a good spot.
What does it mean to you to know opening day, you get the ball?
It's a good feeling. It feels just like the first time. Rocco (Baldelli) did it two years ago in 2023, and I don't take it for granted, you know? I like to think of myself as one of five, but someone has the first game of the year. So I feel honored and blessed to have that opportunity, and then it just lets me know that the team really trusts me to set the tone for a game, for a series, for a season, so I don't take that lightly or for granted. It just puts me, puts another chip on my shoulder to come into the ballpark every day and try to be the best version of myself.
If you were not playing baseball, what would you be doing with your life?
I wanted to go to med school before I got into professional baseball. I also like nutrition. I would like to be a nutritionist, a dietician, so I would do something school-related, related to the body, or something that could also keep me close to the game.
You cook too, right?
A little.
A couple of the other pitchers were telling me what good cooks they are. How about that?
I can eat. I'll make myself available for fun.
What do you do to burn off steam?
I like playing disc golf. I like playing pickleball. I like playing beach volleyball. I like walking. I like biking. So as you can see, a lot of sports-related activities. I like taking my dog out for walks. I like just sitting and calling my family. I call my grandma, my grandpa, my aunts, my sister, my nephew.
So are you the caller?
I call. I think for a while I've been my grandma's favorite, so I pride myself a lot on that.
The Twins open Grapefruit League play in Fort Myers this Saturday, February 22 against the Atlanta Braves at 12:00 p.m. You can hear the game live on 830 WCCO and on the Audacy App.