Cattle used to graze on the field beyond the left field wall at Hammond Stadium, the Twins’ spring training home. An alligator occasionally emerged from a pond behind the right field wall to grab some sun. A van full of inmates wearing orange jumpsuits would pull up at times, and they would get out to pick up trash along Six-Mile Cypress Parkway, which runs along the complex.
The joke was that some of them had just been cut from camp.
Fort Myers, Fla., has come a long way since 1998, my first spring training on the Twins beat. The cows are gone, replaced by an office park. The gator, probably tired of being pelted with Justin Morneau home runs, left long ago. Inmates no longer clean up that road by the park.
The traffic, though, is as bad as ever, I’ve been told. Some things haven’t changed as the 64th season of Twins baseball approaches.
As in most years, the team this spring thinks it’s going to be good. And, as in most years, there are holes somewhere on the roster. At spring training, we get to figure these things out while reaching for sunblock.
This week, I am headed down there for my 27th Twins training camp. I’ll arrive full of questions. Yes, these Twins should be good in 2024, but there are concerns. Here are five things in particular I’ll be looking for during my stay in Fort Myers.
1. Is the rotation still a strength? The Twins did not adequately replace righthander Sonny Gray, a decision they likely will have to revisit much later this summer before the trade deadline. We are left with a couple of pitchers who have a chance to step up in Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, who are close to putting it all together. How much have they closed the gap?
Chris Paddack believes he has a new elbow, and he looked good in the postseason, but time will tell. And how many innings are the Twins comfortable with him throwing this season? Starting rotation depth will be important this year, so who are the next two or three men up when someone is injured or falters?
