There are certain checkpoints for starting pitchers during spring training that fans have come to expect. Bullpen sessions turn into live batting practice. Live batting practice turns into Grapefruit League innings. Grapefruit League innings slowly stretch into something that resembles a normal workload by the time the regular season rolls around.
When a pitcher appears to take a detour from that standard ramp-up, it’s fair to wonder what it means for Opening Day. That’s where things currently sit with Bailey Ober as camp moves deeper into March. It wasn’t quite game action yet, but Ober faced a string of legitimate major-league hitters in a live batting practice session on Sunday, and he liked what he saw.
“Felt great,” Ober said. “It always feels good to be out there, especially when you’re building up. Two innings, 40, 45 pitches, felt really good. Got swings and misses in both innings that I threw. For the most part, threw strikes. I think one at-bat got away from me. … I feel like my body was moving pretty well on my own, and I was moving fast.”
On the surface, everything sounds normal enough. But Ober’s path to this point has been anything but standard. He worked extensively throughout the winter to regain his delivery, which had become significantly out of whack during 2025 while he dealt with a left hip injury. He was pleased with his form approaching camp, but then early in spring, he had a couple of throwing sessions where he felt he backslid a bit.
Rather than charge headlong into games, Ober took an extra bullpen session and then two live batting practice sessions before beginning Grapefruit League play.
“The last couple of weeks, [I] hadn’t been feeling as sharp as I wanted to,” he said. “Some stuff was getting away from what I was working on this offseason. But I’m feeling healthy, and I think this past week I was able to get back to … how I want to feel on the mound mechanically. So just giving me a little bit extra time to really dial that in, because I spent so much of this offseason just grinding.”
That decision is probably the biggest reason why this conversation is happening at all. Ober is not injured. He’s not shut down. But he is behind where he might normally be in a traditional spring progression because he needed to recalibrate mechanically before putting himself into game situations. There can be frustration when an athlete’s body isn’t responding the way they want.
“It’s just baseball. Yes, it is crazy frustrating, especially when you had it in camp and you’re throwing 90-mile-an-hour bullpens in the first week in January, and then you get here and you’re like, where the f***’s is my s***? Like, where is it?” Ober said. “And then, so being able to kind of diagnose, sit back, get a little extra time these guys allow me to get things right, and go out today and throw, and I felt really good, and feel like it’s a good stepping stone going into my next outing.”
The next step for Ober is a game, expected to be on Friday night at home against the Braves. From there, he’ll continue normal buildup, and Twins officials are fully confident he’ll be ready and feeling like himself when the season opens on March 26.
“He’s trying to do everything he can to be as efficient in his delivery as possible,” said general manager Jeremy Zoll. “The more efficient you are, the better your stuff plays. It’s an opportunity to iron those things out early. He’s trying to take advantage of that early, especially with camp starting earlier. We’ll let him have that time now instead of down the road.
“There’s still plenty of time,” Zoll said. “We’re not worried about that. He’s had multiple ups and different things. Not worried about his availability.”
Minnesota’s Opening Day rotation has already taken multiple hits. Pablo López is out for the year after Tommy John surgery, and David Festa has been shut down for multiple weeks with a shoulder issue. If Ober isn’t ready for Opening Day, Mick Abel would probably be the next man up in the rotation. However, that would leave few experienced options in the Triple-A rotation as depth.
Is there a chance Ober isn’t quite ready for Opening Day? Sure. That possibility exists any time a pitcher deviates from the normal script this late in camp. But the Twins are making a clear bet here. They would rather have Ober slightly behind on innings in late March than fighting his delivery again in late May. If this extra time now keeps his mechanics synced when the games start to matter, it may end up being less of a delay and more of an investment.
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