FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Trevor Larnach’s path to a lasting foothold in the Major Leagues has been littered with roadblocks, most of them health-related (hand contusion, adductor strain, core muscle strain -- and associated surgery), across the past two-plus seasons.

And now, add “surprise Spring Training free-agent signing” to the list.

Now 26, Larnach’s journey to the Opening Day roster is muddied once again by the Twins’ acquisition of veteran utility man Donovan Solano a week and a half ago. He’s aware of it, too -- but he knows it’s futile to worry too much about it. His singular focus returned to the field in Minnesota's 7-6 walk-off win over Baltimore on Tuesday, where he went 1-for-3 with a 99.6 mph single and 109.2 mph lineout following his return from a tight groin that kept him out of action for a week.

“I'm sure everyone has thought about that in similar positions,” Larnach said. “You're never going to be able to not think about it. It's where you want to be. It's what you work for.”

Once again, Larnach appears to be on the tough end of the roster math. Solano joined a bench that already featured veterans Kyle Farmer and Michael A. Taylor alongside second catcher Ryan Jeffers and all-around man Nick Gordon. That group looked to have room for Larnach before, but now it’s full -- and that’s a reality made even more difficult because, when healthy, Larnach has shown that he can be a productive Major League hitter.

During his 2021 rookie season, Larnach posted a .764 OPS with five homers through his first 43 games before his numbers took a dive as he tried to play through a left hand injury, not wanting to lose that opportunity in the Majors. He was optioned in August -- and he finished the season on the IL.

Then last year, Larnach was hitting .299 with an .891 OPS through the end of May -- but perhaps, he came back too quickly from an adductor strain that cost him two weeks in the middle of May. Doctors told Larnach that his core muscles tried to compensate, and that led to more underperformance and further injury that required surgery. A six-week recovery turned into nine or 10 weeks, ultimately costing him the remainder of his ‘22 season -- and there was frustration in that, too.

“I had half my season taken from me,” Larnach said. “I put in so much work to get to the point where I’d been. And I was feeling good and doing well, and then -- that’s just what happens.”

Larnach acknowledges that he could have cut his season off a bit earlier, when he first started to feel the core issues, but that’s not who he is. He’ll play through anything, until he can’t. And given how tough it’s been for him to find these healthy opportunities in the big leagues, it’s hard to blame him.

Once ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Twins’ organization, it’s easy to have envisioned a world in which Larnach would have been an everyday starter in the corner outfield by now. There’s no question as to his importance to the Twins’ ‘23 plans -- he figures to see significant time this year -- but the organization’s well-founded desire to stock up on depth means that might not necessarily begin on Opening Day.

It gives him a certain “edge,” Larnach says, to be fighting for his roster spot again, but he’s also used to his fate being determined by factors outside his control. There’s plenty of time between now and Opening Day, and already Gordon is dealing with a high left ankle sprain that will sideline him for a handful of days. Whatever happens around the final few position player spots on the roster, Larnach figures to be first up to get the call.

He’s refreshed, having traveled during the offseason, visited his mother in Tennessee and spent time working with hitting coach David Popkins in San Diego. He’s confident and healthy. And he’s hoping, at last, that this is his final spring on the bubble.

“If you're comfortable and you're set in your position, you know you're going to be there and that they need you,” Larnach said. “You ultimately just have to show up and be ready to go and get yourself ready during Spring Training. For guys that are on the cusp, for guys that are trying to make it, it's a little different. It's not as comfortable."