FORT MYERS, FLA. – Twins pitchers and catchers worked out on Wednesday after reporting to camp the day before.
Well, everyone except two righthanders.
Starter Kenta Maeda received permission from the club to report on Thursday, three days after his trade from the Dodgers became official. And reliever Fernando Romero will be out for several days as he works out a visa issue in his native Dominican Republic.
"We would prefer that he's here … but I would assume that he would have plenty of time to get ready for his season," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Romero.
Romero posted a 7.07 ERA in 15 games with the Twins last season. He was 2-4 with a 4.37 ERA for Class AAA Rochester as he struggled with his mechanics, but he appeared to have late success with a slightly altered delivery. As long as he's not delayed for long, he should be able pitch his way onto the Opening Day roster.
"We want to have everyone here on Day 1, but that's not always possible," Baldelli said, "and that's perfectly OK. We can catch our guys up very quickly."
Romero's absence is a little surprising, given that he was in Minneapolis last month for TwinsFest.
Fond memories
Outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. was home in Baltimore with his father on Jan. 26 when his brother called him with stunning news.
Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter had perished in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. Wade then learned that John Altobelli, the head coach at Orange Coast College, his wife and daughter also had died in the crash.
Wade played for Altobelli in 2014 when Altobelli managed the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League, a summer wood bat league for college players.
"We looked into [the crash] and found out about Alto and his family as well," Wade said. "I started telling my dad about him right then and there. It was just crazy.
"He was always talking about being yourself, not coming out there and being somebody you are not. It didn't matter who was in the stands watching you, just be yourself and that's good enough."
Wade said Altobelli always wanted to know how his players were doing off the field and was easy to talk to.
"Great guy," Wade said. "Brought great energy to the field every day. He was tough, too, because we had a whole bunch of different guys on the team, interchangeable parts, but he kept it the same."
Twins reliever Sergio Romo played for Altobelli at Orange Coast College in 2001.
Etc.
• Special coaches LaTroy Hawkins, Johan Santana and Joe Nathan were on the field with the pitchers on Wednesday. Each former Twin will be part of workouts for a few days.
• The Twins released a video of new pitcher Jhoulys Chacin pronouncing his name. It's Joe-less Cha-seen.
