Spring training is here, and so is the injury bug for many MLB clubs.

The exhibition slate officially kicked off on Friday, except for a handful of teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, who’ll open Grapefruit League action on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Even as games begin, several long-term injuries have already emerged around the sport.

And a few of them come from inside the American League.

As such, there’s no better place to start than right there. So, let’s unpack this fresh wave of injury news from the early days of spring training.

After executing a full-scale teardown at last season’s trade deadline, the Minnesota Twins are set to lose another familiar face from their rebuilding roster, with López now expected to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, as The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports.

They’re now one step closer to edging out the Chicago White Sox as the favourites to finish last in the AL Central this season.

This is another devastating injury blow for López, who made just 14 starts last season — throwing 75.2 innings, the fewest of his career, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season and his abbreviated rookie campaign in ’18 — due to shoulder and forearm injuries.

The 29-year-old righty, who’ll enter the final season of his four-year, $73.5 million contract in 2027, was expected to headline the Twins’ rotation this season alongside co-ace Joe Ryan — who’ll also enter free agency after next season. Both hurlers have also been heavily mentioned in trade rumours over the past several months, dating back even before last summer’s trade deadline.

With López now sidelined indefinitely and Minnesota expected to remain uncompetitive this season, all eyes will be squarely on Ryan’s availability leading up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Sticking in the AL, but shifting from the Central to the East, the Baltimore Orioles will begin this season without their all-star third baseman, as Westburg recovers from a partially torn UCL, general manager Mike Elias told reporters Friday.

The 27-year-old infielder, who’s missed significant time due to injury over the past two seasons, won’t require surgery, at least for now. He’ll attempt to rehab the injury, starting with PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) injections, but is guaranteed to remain sidelined through April.

Elias has already moved quickly to strengthen his club’s organizational depth without Westburgh, claiming infielder Bryan Ramos (out of options) off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. He’ll likely compete for a roster spot this spring, while Coby Mayo and Jeremiah Jackson could be the primary options to fill in at the hot corner.

This is Baltimore’s second notable injury departure of the spring, with Jackson Holliday (right hand surgery) already ruled out for Opening Day.

Jumping across to the National League, the Atlanta Braves — whose rotation already featured many health-related concerns heading into this spring — are already down a pair of impact starters in Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, both of whom are headed for elbow surgeries. That’s on top of being without AJ Smith-Shawver, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery and could miss most, if not all, of this season.

In the aftermath of losing Schwellenbach and Waldrep, the Braves must now rely on a depleted, high-injury-risk staff of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López, Grant Holmes and likely Bryce Elder (out of options). Naturally, that’s an uncomfortable feeling for Braves management with Opening Day less than five weeks away.

For an offence that includes Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley and reigning NL Rookie of the Year winner Drake Baldwin, that might need to be where this team’s biggest strength lies. But with veteran arms such as Lucas Giolito, Patrick Corbin, Zack Littell and Max Scherzer still lingering in free agency, there may now be a pathway to making a play for one of those unsigned hurlers.