Andrelton Simmons shows flashes in Twins debut; Trevor Larnach out with injury

FORT MYERS, FLA. – When Rob Refsnyder briefly juggled Jason Kipnis' single in the second inning Friday, the Atlanta Brave headed for second base, then stopped halfway.

Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons quickly recognized his peril, glided toward short right field, grabbed Refsnyder's throw and in one motion, fired it to Miguel Sanó at first base.

Sanó had to reach for the throw and it popped out of his glove, or Kipnis would have been the first out. Still, Simmons had announced his arrival in the Twins' defense during a Grapefruit League loss to the Braves.

"That's what he does," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I'm going to guess we're going to see more than a handful of plays this year like that, where he intercepts a throw from somewhere and redirects it elsewhere. I'm sure that will lead to a few outs. I have no doubt."

Simmons' debut at the plate, after a two-week delay in arriving at camp, was a little less noticeable; he went 0-for-3 batting second, grounding out twice and flying out once. Still, Baldelli said, "it was a good first day for him. He always finds a way to put the ball in play, shoot the ball around the field."

The Twins invited top prospect Royce Lewis, out this season after knee surgery, to watch Friday's game from the dugout, in order to get a look at an elite fielder at his own position.

"Simmons being a new player and a pretty important defensive piece for us, we thought it would be really nice to get Royce out there like we did today, and let him watch these guys roll a little bit," the manager said.

The battle for roster spots among outfielders has gone on largely without Trevor Larnach. That's because, Baldelli revealed Friday, the former first-rounder from Oregon State suffered a hamstring injury while playing right field on March 1.

"It was on a defensive play early" in the Twins' 6-5 win over the Rays that day, Baldelli said. "He went out there and finished the game, and it wasn't something that set in until a little bit later on, [when] he realized what he was dealing with."

The injury has cost the 24-year-old Larnach 10 days of workouts, and a chance to earn the starting job in left field, or a backup role. But "his hamstring is getting pretty close to being 100 %," Baldelli said. "His spring got sidetracked a little bit."

Major League Baseball consulted with all 30 on-field staffs, including the Twins' before deciding to test a few rule changes in the minor leagues this year. Baldelli said those discussions convinced him that "some of this experimentation is going to lead to the game changing — and overall, it's going to be for the better."

Among the rules being implemented in the various leagues are one to ban infielders from shifting into the outfield grass when the ball is delivered, and another to limit the number of pickoff throws a pitcher can make. Another league will implement strict time limits between pitches, innings and pitching changes.

"Until you actually pit it out there and run with something, just take a chance, I don't think you can find out what's going to be helpful and what's not," Baldelli said. "I'm glad the league is doing this, and I think it's going to grow our game."

One caveat: The Twins' manager made it clear he's most skeptical about using automated pitch-calling systems, as a low-Class A league will implement, rather than an umpire's judgment.

"I enjoy working with the umpires. They're an important part of what we do," he said. "There's a lot of value that umpires bring, and the feel of the game will certainly not be the same when they're not the ones out there running everything."

• Byron Buxton hit a home run on Friday, Baldelli said, and even though it was only in a live batting practice session, it was a good sign that the outfielder has recovered from the broken tooth, root canal and crown placement that has sidelined him this week. His mouth is still sore from all the dental work, Baldelli said, but he expects Buxton to play in the Twins' next home game on Sunday.