Recently, the Minnesota Twins got some rough news when it was announced that star pitcher Pablo Lopez would be out after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The news hung a cloud over the Twins' 2026 campaign before it even began and put their chances of ending their two-year playoff drought in serious jeopardy.
On Thursday, things went from bad to worse with another rough update regarding a member of their pitching department.
“Starting pitcher David Festa’s readiness for Opening Day is now in question after he was diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement, the team said Thursday,” reported Dan Hayes of The Athletic. “Festa’s current shoulder issue is unrelated to the thoracic outlet syndrome injury that ended his 2025 season, but requires an injection and a shutdown of several weeks, Twins athletic trainer Nick Paparesta said.”
The good news is that, as Hayes noted, Festa's current injury isn't tied to the ailment that shut him down in 2025, so concerns about something lingering in that department aren't warranted.
However, it's still not a great update for a Twins team that is already skating on thin ice when it comes to the pitching department on the heels of Lopez's brutal injury news.
The Twins are looking to bounce back after two straight years of not making the playoffs, after looking like a promising team on the rise in the AL not too long ago. Last year, Minnesota got off to a hot start, at one point setting a franchise record for games won in a row, before falling off a cliff as things continued, ultimately opting to blow a large portion of their team up at the trade deadline.
Things could follow a similar script this year if the injury situation continues to worsen. The Twins are slated to kick off their 2026 season in late March.
