Twins Sign Pablo Lopez to 4-Year Contract Extension

The Minnesota Twins have signed their newly acquired ace pitcher, Pablo Lopez, to 4-year contract extension that will begin next season. His new deal will keep the former Marlin in Minnesota through the 2027 season and is worth $73.5 million total ($18.375M per season).

The Minnesota Twins and Pitcher Pablo López are closing in on a 4 year $73.5 million dollar contract extension per sources. Agreement expected to be finalized soon.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) April 17, 2023

Lopez had one year of arbitration left, meaning he was under team control through the 2024 season, even without an extension. But Pablo is already proving to be one of the best pitchers in baseball, through four starts this season. He has the most strikeouts in the league (33) and his numbers are phenomenal — 26 IP | 1.73 ERA | 0.808 WHIP | 254 ERA+ | 2.71 FIP | 11.4 SO/9 —

Pablo Lopez extension is another win for Twins’ front office

For the Twins, this looks like another savvy front office move from Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. They bet on Lopez before being forced to and, in return, they get him on a deal that would be far below market value, if he were to hit free agency today, let alone after two more successful seasons.

There are 20 pitchers in the MLB who make $20 million or more per season. The most dominant arms, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, make over $43 million per season. Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg make over $35 million.

Now, Pablo Lopez isn’t in the same conversation as Verlander, Scherzer or Cole but he just turned 27 years old and he’s only getting better. By the time this new deal is done, it could look like the steal of all MLB contracts. Hell, it kind of looks like a steal even before it has started.

Twins quietly building an AL Central giant

The Minnesota Twins are quietly building a contender that can last. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton are both signed through 2028. Pablo Lopez is now a Twin through 2027 and they own the rights to Joe Ryan through the same year. Jose Miranda, Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis and Trevor Larnach all have a handful of team-control years or more remaining as well.

We know how much the organization likes its pitching staff and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sonny Gray or Tyler Mahle sign an extension at some point this season, if they are willing to take the right price.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan