Rainstorms throughout the Fort Myers area this morning forced the Twins workouts inside the indoor batting cages this morning. Both pitchers and hitters got their work done in the cages, although it wasn’t without a little havoc. Manager Ron Gardenhire said the club had to pin up the netting in one of the cages because 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch was too tall and his arm was hitting the netting during his delivery.

Still despite the cramped space and less than ideal conditions, the Twins were able to get enough done on Tuesday.

“We got plenty of work, just inside, not on the grass,” Gardenhire said. “ Guys got out there, ran around, whatever, all
that stuff. But we had to do most of our work inside, the fields got
pretty ugly, which is never a bad thing. You get your work in,
sometimes give them a little break on their legs, a little less
throwing on a day like this is fine. Just don’t want too many of them.
We just moved today’s program back to tomorrow. Perfect.”

Here are a few more news nuggets from Tuesday:

— All of the injury concerns seem to be doing OK. Brian Duensing and Jose Mijares were both able to throw after getting hit during live batting practice in recent days.

— Gardenhire passed along his lineup for Thursday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Red Sox at City of Palms Park

It’s as follows: Denard Span CF, Alexi Casilla 2B, Jason Kubel DH, Michael Cuddyer RF, Jacque Jones LF, Brendan Harris 3B, Brock Peterson 1B, Drew Butera C, Matt Tolbert SS

Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will play in Friday’s home opener at Hammond Stadium. Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy will likely make their Twins spring debuts in that contest as well.

— Gardenhire is also scheduled to receive his Chuck Tanner Manager of the Year Award during Sunday’s split squad game in Bradenton against the Pirates. The award was given out this offseason but Gardenhire was unable to attend due to traveling across the country with his mother.

One person who gave Gardenhire grief for not attending was Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who was roasted at the event in Pittsburgh. Leyland also had a bit of advice to pass along to Gardenhire recently.

Having heard Gardy’s comment about Joe Mauer’s contract in that the Twins were deciding whether to give the catcher Minneapolis or St. Paul, Leyland said he had the answer.

“Give him both,” the Tigers skipper said.