FORT MYERS – The Twins kicked off their spring training Grapefruit League season with a home opener against the crosstown rival Red Sox. Besides the disconcerting news about Joe Ryan’s scratched start, here are some other things the nearly 8000 fans at Hammond saw:

Royce’s Work Paying Off
In the first inning, Royce Lewis made a nice play on a bouncing ball up the third base line, reminding everyone that, despite his offensive struggles last year, he at least put to rest some concerns about his defense at third base. 

Then, in the fifth inning, his throw to first base was wild and resulted in an error. 

This last week on Twins Daily’s Live show from Fort Myers, I was asked if it was possible that Royce Lewis would grade out as the second-best defender on the Twins this year, behind only Byron Buxton. I don’t think that’s unlikely at all. That’s partly damning of the Twins’ overall defensive level, but I also think that the work he put in last year paid off and will continue to do so. 

The work he put in this latest offseason around his swing looks like it might pay off, too. He drilled a 96-mph fastball from southpaw Payton Tolle into left-center field to give the Twins a 1-0 lead in his first at-bat.

Simeon’s Splitter
Simeon Woods Richardson finished the year with a 4.04 ERA over 23 starts, his second year of providing solid production in the rotation. But while he clearly tired late in the season in 2024, he finished the 2025 season with a 2.33 ERA in September. This coincided with him leaning into his splitter more. It looks like he plans to do the same this season.




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