NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Sonny Gray turned around on the bullpen mound to check the Rapsodo readings after delivering a perfectly spotted fastball, and catcher Ryan Jeffers turned to the media gathered at the adjoining wall to give a joyous look. He loves catching guys like this, he said.
"[Expletive] yeah," Gray muttered after one pitch.
"Set up outside; 2-2 to a lefty," he'd direct Jeffers before another.
Pitch after pitch, Gray exhibited total command during his first bullpen session since his Sunday trade from the Reds to the Twins, in which he threw around 24 targeted pitches, working on moving his fastball around and establishing a routine and rapport with Jeffers. He's not afraid to voice his triumphs and his lapses, either.
"I guess that’s just kind of how my process works when it comes to bullpens," he said. "I am very meticulous, I guess, when it comes to how I expect myself to get it done. I have a plan. I definitely have a plan, and I just want to execute that plan to the best of my ability."
You can already count Jeffers among the fans of the Twins' new frontline starter, acquired alongside Minor League right-hander Ronny Henriquez in a deal that sent 2021 first-rounder Chase Petty to Cincinnati. There was a peanut gallery of young pitchers trying to absorb Gray's process behind him as he threw, too, including Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Jordan Balazovic, Blayne Enlow and Josh Winder.
Gray spoke highly of the 24-year-old Jeffers following their first session, noting that the third-year catcher turned three balls into strikes with his framing in just that short exercise. It's a good sign of early rapport among what could be the Twins' Opening Day battery.
There's still no clarity as to what Gray's next step will be in his buildup, but manager Rocco Baldelli indicated it will likely involve at least one more bullpen session, as the Twins are building up pitchers at their normal pace despite the abbreviated Spring Training period.
"We're not going to jump steps here," Baldelli said. "We're going to actually build these guys up the right way, responsibly, and go from there. So, you know, whoever’s starting Opening Day may not be able to go five innings or six innings by the time we get to Opening Day. We're going to have to see what we're at."
Kirilloff makes spring debut
Royce Lewis wasn't the only young player making a long-awaited 2022 debut in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Braves at CoolToday Park; close friend Alex Kirilloff was also in the lineup for the first time following his own recovery from injury after surgery on his right wrist ended his 2021 season in July.
Kirilloff started at first base and went 0-for-2 with lineouts to third base and right field, his wrist no longer an issue as he builds toward what should be his first Opening Day start in the Majors.
"More of the good Kirilloff at-bats that we've seen," Baldelli said. "Before he dealt with that injury last year, he was pretty on fire and feeling it. Every at-bat was dangerous. That's what we're getting him back to."
The 24-year-old didn't have the smoothest recovery; he started swinging five to six weeks after his surgery and built up to hitting but was shut down in November after the wrist didn't feel right. He started ramping up again in December, hitting every day with Max Kepler.
"Yeah, [I was worried] a little bit," Kirilloff said. "You just don't know how it’s going to recover. I think it took a little bit longer. They had to clean up the cartilage tears and whatnot, and then they ended up having to shave my ulna bone down. I think the bone part, the shave ... With the bone it takes a little bit longer than expected. It feels good now."