VENICE, Fla. — Taj Bradley had to wait a little extra to finally see the results of all his offseason work in action. The starter thinks he might have been the last to find out Sunday’s game had been delayed by an hour because of rain.

He was hanging in the clubhouse. Then he was riding a stationary bike. He chatted with Byron Buxton, bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins and director of team security Charles Adams.

The extra hour didn’t seem to faze him.

Sunday marked his first chance to test out his new two-seamer he had been working on and his revamped splitter. In those respects, the starter walked away from his first spring training start happy. Bradley threw three innings in the Twins’ 8-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park. Facing a lineup packed with Braves regulars, Bradley gave up one run — a home run to Drake Baldwin — while striking out five.

He was pleased with his ability to get ahead of hitters and said he thought his stuff felt good. After giving up hits to the first two batters he faced, he got out of the jam unscathed, a point of emphasis for his new manager, Derek Shelton.

“I thought he was really really good,” Shelton said. “First impression of him getting into any kind of trouble and then being able to dial it in and make pitches was really impressive.”

Though he has spent most of the past three seasons pitching in the majors, he was at Triple-A when the Twins acquired him last July. When he was sent down, working on his splitter was a particular point of emphasis.

It was this offseason, too.

Bradley, who had a 5.05 earned-run average last season across 27 major league starts, said it took months of catch play to feel comfortable with the grip. He went to Dallas this offseason and worked with a group that included Twins prospect Marco Raya, who he said gave him some feedback to improve the pitch.

“I was tweaking and found a grip I could be consistent with, and that’s the one I just rode with all the way into spring training. And I threw a few good ones (Sunday),” Bradley said. “I got (Ozzie) Albies with one, (Ronald) Acuña, I got him to foul one off, so I think it was a good pitch. And I got the double-play ball to (Matt) Olson with one.”

The starter also added a two-seamer to his arsenal — “just another pitch to throw in the mix and keep hitters off balance” — and said he was happy with the soft contact it got.

Bradley had an extended start in his debut because he is preparing to compete for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic next month. Former Tampa Bay teammate Randy Arozarena introduced Bradley, who was born in the United States but is eligible to play through his grandmother, to Mexico’s general manager in 2023, kickstarting that relationship.

His offseason routine, though, he said was more or less similar, though his bullpens were more stretched out because of the upcoming competition.

This offseason was his first in the Twins organization after being acquired for Griffin Jax last July. He credited Twins pitching coaches — Pete Maki, Luis Ramirez and Hawkins — with helping simplify things for him as he adjusted to the team.

“We’ve got LaTroy here to be a little bit of the art, Pete’s the science … you’ve got Luis helping you with the little finer things like mechanics,” Bradley said. “(It’s) like a good mix of coaches and good mentors that you can throw all into one person and be a great pitcher from it.”

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Joe Ryan says he doesn’t do deep dives on social media and he doesn’t go on X, but he is still aware that him being scratched from Saturday’s game on the heels of the news of Pablo López’s season-ending injury sent Twins fans into a panic.

“I’m sorry to scare everyone,” the Twins’ starter said.

In truth, Ryan himself wasn’t very concerned when some low back tightness came up on Saturday, but he knew it was best to take extra precaution, particularly this early in spring. Fifteen minutes before he was supposed to throw the first pitch of the Grapefruit League opener against the Boston Red Sox, the Twins announced Ryan had been scratched.

Imaging taken Saturday revealed the best-case scenario for the all-star pitcher — just inflammation, nothing more serious. The Twins will let it calm down for a few days, and Ryan has already started working with the training staff on core stability exercises.

Ryan had already began preparing on the field for the day’s game but had yet to throw off the bullpen mound when he decided to shut things down. He could start to feel his body compensate and knew not to push it further.

“I think I’ve learned a lot of lessons over the years of pitching through things that I probably shouldn’t pitch through and that will carry over longer,” Ryan said. “We made the decision that won’t affect anything going forward. We can tackle it. I’m not worried about it.”

While general manager Jeremy Zoll said the Twins don’t envision this affecting his readiness for Opening Day, there’s still a question as to how this might impact his availability for the World Baseball Classic. Ryan is slated to compete for the United States in the tournament that begins on March 5 and ends on March 17. Right now, Ryan said he was “not taking anything off the table.”

As things progress, Zoll said they would work through conversations with Ryan and his agent to come to the best decision.

“We want to make sure that we’re being as responsible as possible,” Zoll said. “But also we know that it’s important to a lot of people to have the best players pitching in that. So we’ve just got to balance all those factors and see where it comes out.”

Taylor, Pressly in camp

It’s not uncommon to see Twins greets like Tony Oliva, Bert Blyleven, Johan Santana and Justin Morneau among the former players wandering around camp this time of year. In recent days, the Twins have added a pair of recently-retired players to the mix, too.

Outfielder Michael A. Taylor, who played for the Twins in 2023 and the Pisstburgh Pirates under current Twins manager Derek Shelton in 2024, and former Twins reliever Ryan Pressly have been in camp working with players. Shelton said the duo reached out to Zoll this offseason to express their interest in returning. Both retired after last season. Taylor, 34, has 12 years of major-league experience while Pressly, 37, has 13.

“We would be crazy not to put those guys in our clubhouse,” Shelton said. “No. 1, the character that they are. And No. 2, their knowledge and experience they have. We’re looking at two guys who have both won World Series. Champions. I love the fact that they wanted to come back and be Twins.”

Briefly

Outfielder Alan Roden hit a grand slam in the Twins’ 8-1 win over the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park. Roden, acquired in the Louie Varland trade last July, is in the hunt for an outfield spot. Emmanuel Rodriguez, one of the Twins’ top prospects, went 2 for 2 with a home run and a nice grab in right field, while Kendry Rojas, a top pitching prospect, threw two scoreless innings and struck out three. …  The Twins will take on reigning two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal when they head to Lakeland to face the Detroit Tigers on Monday. Mick Abel, who is vying for a spot in the rotation, will start for the Twins.

Joe Ryan #41 of the Minnesota Twins looks on prior to the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park on July 15, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Minnesota Twins Alan Roden reacts after hitting a grand slam home run in the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in North Port, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Veteran Wild forward Marcus Foligno did not see any law enforcement on his drive from the suburbs to the team’s Sunday morning practice at TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul. That was probably a good thing.

“I was flying,” Foligno admitted with a sheepish grin so he could join teammates and staff to watch the third period of Team USA’s tight gold medal game against Canada in the Wild theater-style video room.

And as a dual citizen — born in New York but was raised in Ontario — Foligno said Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win to claim the nation’s first men’s Olympic gold since 1980 was less about national fealty than it was about Minnesota teammates Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber and forward Matt Boldy playing for the U.S.

“They all represent the USA but the Minnesota Wild at the same time,” he said. “So, I’m excited for them.”

Three Wild players were back from Milan and on the ice for Sunday’s skate, Team Sweden goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt in the nets and Team Czechia defenseman David Spacek shooting pucks.

The Wild’s three triumphant Americans all had an impact in the finale. Boldly scored the first goal on an assist from Hughes, and Faber was a key cog in the Team USA penalty kill, which was a perfect 18 for 18 in the Olympics. That included a 5-on-3 Canada power play on Sunday that lasted more than 90 seconds.

Wild head coach John Hynes, an assistant coach for Team USA, was placed in charge of the penalty kill, which played an important role in snapping a 46-year gold medal drought.

“That’s huge. I mean, it just goes to show you that special teams can win you games, win you tournaments,” Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian said. “You can just see the compete level and the selflessness that guys are willing to block shots and stuff like that. So, yeah, it’s obvious that can be a huge difference-maker in a game.”

Bogosian, who spent three-plus seasons employed by the Winnipeg Jets, said fans in Manitoba likely aren’t happy with their goaltender, American star Connor Hellebuyck, but will be happy to have him wearing a Jets sweater as Winnipeg tries to get back into the playoff chase over the next two months.

While the final health report from the Olympics is a tightly-guarded secret, the 10 players from the Wild organization who traveled to Italy for the games all appear to be returning free of major injuries. And for the three Americans, with a gold medal on their resumé, their Minnesota teammates expect the focus to change quickly.

“It seems like every time they touch the puck, it’s doing something dangerous, so we just hope they keep rolling,” Foligno said. “Come back here excited with a chance to keep winning. That’s what we want to do here. We want to end the season with a Stanley Cup.

“For those guys, they got a taste of winning and they’ve been in probably the highest-pressure situation. So, to have three guys in the locker room going into the Stanley Cup playoffs is beneficial for us, big time.”

After a day off on Monday, the Wild will practice Tuesday and Wednesday in St. Paul before a flight to Denver, where they will resume their NHL season Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. CST.

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Rudy Gobert seemed to express some hope that the NBA would rescind the flagrant foul he accrued in Friday’s win over Dallas. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t happen.

Although the Timberwolves appealed the flagrant, Gobert was suspended for Sunday’s game against Philadelphia for exceeding the season-long allotment of flagrant foul “points.” This is the second game Gobert has missed this season for the same reason.

The penalty only gets more harsh from here. From now until the end of the regular season, every flagrant foul Gobert picks up will result in a two-game suspension.

That’s not an ideal situation for a Minnesota team in the midst of a tightly-contested Western Conference playoff race in which seeds No. 3-7 are all firmly in play with just south of a third of the campaign remaining.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said it’s up to Gobert “to manage” the fouls, though both player and coach say it will be difficult. Friday’s flagrant foul was the result of Gobert flailing his arm back into the face of Mavericks big man Marvin Bagley III as the two jostled for rebounding position.

Finch thought the call was “a bit harsh.”

“Seemingly every time Rudy gets clocked in the head and the face, which is quite a bit, it’s always just, ‘Ah that’s just two guys (battling), play on. It’s nothing,’ ” Finch said. “But yet the other way around, we seem to be penalized for it. … I didn’t see a flagrant there or the unnecessary part of it.”

Gobert repeated his assertion that he gets hit in the head almost every game with opponents facing no such penalties.

“Just because I’m 7-foot doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt when I get hit in the head. I’m close to a superhuman, but it doesn’t mean that I am,” Gobert said. “It wasn’t a dangerous play. It was just part of the rebounding. (Bagley) runs at me with elbows up. It was a very physical box-out. I’m fine with that. But just, either we be consistent or we just let us play. When they’re too harsh on that, it penalizes the team.”

At some point, it’s on Gobert to find a way to play within the boundaries set by officials this season. If the way the game isn’t officiated won’t change — and it’s apparent it won’t — then it’s Gobert who must adapt.

If he doesn’t, his team may ultimately suffer when it matters most.

“It’s really hard. It’s really hard. Because when you look back at some of the flagrants I got, two of them were contesting 3-point shots. One of them with (Oklahoma City guard Alex) Caruso, I’m contesting a dunk. I’m actually going up trying to block the shot,” he said. “Maybe one or two of those was very flagrant, by the book. But none of them were very severe.

“So, it’s really tough. Guys are coming at me every night, hitting me in the face, grabbing me. They purposely foul me. That was like five times (Friday). Run into my knees trying to box me out. All these plays are dangerous, and I’m fine with it, you know?

“But it’s really hard when you get super penalized, and people can do anything without accountability on me. So, hopefully they look at that and make it a little more fair.”

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) reacts to a call in overtime of an NBA basketball game. against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)

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