Twins pitcher Sonny Gray is a professor in bullpen sessions

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Sonny Gray threw a 25-pitch bullpen session, his first as a Twin, on Friday. But it was more like five five-pitch sessions, because Gray approaches his job like a pilot, paying attention to every detail and constantly checking his instruments.

"I have a clear picture of what I would like to get accomplished. Today it was commanding my fastball, getting my mindset there, competing," Gray said after his midday workout. "I checked in on some of the Edgertronic stuff, some of the Rapsodo [data], just to kind of briefly see where I was at with my fastball. … I am very meticulous, I guess."

He was more than that, pitching coach Wes Johnson said. He was professional — and effective.

"He looked really good. I was very happy with it," said Johnson, who conferred with Gray several times as he threw. "He looked the way he was supposed to look."

Johnson cited Rich Hill in 2020 and J.A. Happ last year as similarly detail-focused during their preparation. "Guys like that, they really understand what they need to do," he said. "It's a process you develop over time."

Many of the Twins' younger pitchers gathered behind Gray to watch that process, which Johnson said is a great sign for their futures. "This guy has done what they all want to do themselves. He's a great example," Johnson said.

Gray, acquired from the Reds in a trade last Sunday, was happy with how he felt and how his arm responded, and he was impressed with his new catcher, Ryan Jeffers. "He's got a great glove. He got me three balls that he made strikes," Gray said. "It was awesome."

Gray will likely throw another bullpen session before moving up to live batting practice next week, and eventually game action.

Chi Chi Gonzalez threw a three-inning showcase for scouts in Florida on Tuesday. By Friday, he was wearing a Twins uniform, having signed a minor-league contract.

"He demonstrated he can be a guy who adds depth and competition to our group," said Twins General Manager Thad Levine, who was with the Rangers when Texas drafted the righthander in 2013. "As we're preparing for April, with such a short runway to the season, we're looking at an aggregate number of innings we're going to need to consume in the first four to six weeks, and anyone who can bite off more than three outs at a clip is going to have real value."

Especially if that pitcher is willing, after three rough seasons in Colorado, to alter his pitch mix.

"My plan for this year is to be heavy on sinkers and sliders," said the 30-year-old Gonzalez, who made 44 starts for the Rockies, pitched 184 total innings, and watched his ERA balloon to 6.10 while he was in Denver. "In Colorado, I used a lot more four-seam [fastball], four-seam cutter," in part because of altitude and Colorado's dry climate.

Juan Minaya's visa snags have been cleared and the Dominican reliever arrived in Twins camp on Friday. That leaves only new catcher Jose Godoy, claimed off waivers on Thursday, not yet in camp.

The Twins are looking forward to his arrival, Levine said, because they believe he'll be a solid replacement for Ben Rortvedt, traded to the Yankees last Sunday, as the team's third catcher.

Godoy is an above-average major-league defender, Levine said, and a better hitter than he showed in his 16-game, 6-for-37 debut for the Mariners last year. His minor-league track record shows terrific plate discipline, with a .357 on-base percentage and more than two-thirds as many walks as strikeouts.

"We're hopeful that will translate into being serviceable in the major leagues," Levine said, "and the defense is going to play up here."

Levine said the Twins are still extremely active in trying to acquire more players via trade or free agency this week, but negotiations are dragging on. "The cadence of communication is always in flux," he said. "We have grand designs, but sometimes the market is a little more lethargic than we would like."

Bailey Ober on Saturday will become the first projected starting pitcher to pitch in a Grapefruit League game, starting the Twins' home opener against the Red Sox.

"He was as prepared as you could be. When the lockout ended, he was also the first one down here … and we were able to start his spring training multiple days before anyone else," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "It was just very easy to see he was ready to go. So he gets almost an extra turn down here because of that."

The Twins took turns filming scoreboard videos on Friday, a highly produced process that takes about 20 minutes per player. One of the requests asked of players is to roar like a bear, a performance that had the clubhouse talking.

"The growl thing is a little weird. But it's for the fans, it's fun. I don't mind it," said Randy Dobnak, who rated his performance "a seven out of 10." (Byron Buxton, according to those who watched the filming, does the scariest bear impression.)

Dobnak also was asked to look cross-eyed, he said, and he was quick to comply. But he wasn't sure what to do about another request.

"They want you to do a yell for the crowd, 'C'mon, let's go! Let's hear it! Make some noise, let's go!' But they're not recording [the audio]," Dobnak said. "So do you pretend, or do you actually shout? There's just a couple of guys in a quiet room, so it seems really weird to yell."

How did he handle it?

"I yelled," Dobnak said. "I'm OK being weird."