Both clubs that call Fort Myers home as the precursor to the Major League Baseball regular season are busy at work fine-tuning rosters, ramping up activity and getting swings and arms right for when the games mean the most.
The Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox play mere miles from one another across Daniels Parkway, with snowbirds, visitors and now full-time residents alike getting the first look at what the 2026 version of their favorite clubs will be.
Friday evening at Lee Health Sports Complex, one of the Twins most important arms made his first start of Spring Training against the Braves after being hampered by lower-body injuries last season.
The 6-foot-9 Bailey Ober retired the side in order in two consecutive innings while throwing 19 of his 25 pitches for strikes, punching out one.
“Felt great,” Ober said of his outing. “Felt really good to be out there during game action instead of being in live BP like I have been. Felt really good to put the uniform on, have the defense behind me and be in a game atmosphere.”
With a fastball in the low-90s and a devastating change-up, Ober looked in control, and thankfully, for both he and the Twins, healthy.
Of his change-up, Ober said, “It’s my pitch — my highest off speed usage pitch. Just trying to get a feel of it early so I can progress [it], and put it in my back pocket.
“I mean, I feel really healthy right now. [I’m] happy where I’m at today, just being able to go out there, get outs, get bad swings, and looking forward to my next outing.”
Fighting through both knee and hip issues last season, he did show signs of the right-hander Twins fans are familiar with. From April 5 to May 25, Ober went 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA, striking out 43 across 10 starts. He ended up on the IL for the first time since 2022 in early July after a brutal June.
So, how difficult was it for Ober to say “uncle” and come out of the rotation last season?
“As a player, sometimes you’ve got to check your ego and do what’s best for yourself and do what’s best for the team,” he said. “I pitched on it for the first two months of the season, and had success throwing on it, and then it just got to a point where I wasn’t able to and had to look myself in the mirror and take a step back and kind of regroup and go from there. But as big leaguers, we pitch through stuff all the time.
“Now, usually those things don’t last six months. Usually, maybe a start or two, and then you’re right back in the groove of things. So, yeah, just learning from that. And you know, hopefully, I mean, I’m gonna face something like that down the road, maybe I’m a little bit more prepared for it now.”
With weeks still left to go in camp and, like everybody else, using the time to get ready for the grueling 162-game regular season, he feels he’s in a great position to be ready to start the year on time.
“Definitely taking steps forward to where I want to be,” Ober said. “I felt like the ball was coming out good. I felt like I had uncomfortable at-bats the whole time. I was throwing strikes. Didn’t seem like anyone really hit anything hard. That’s kind of what I’m looking for when I’m out there-just being able to locate. I would like to locate a little bit better with two strikes to get some punch outs instead of weak contact, but, we’ll take outs any way we get them.”
Ober’s health will be crucial for a Twins rotation already without Pablo López and question marks on the back end.
Manager Derek Shelton said he was pleased with Ober’s outing, and has full faith he’ll be ready to go by the regular season with the ability to make at least three more spring starts.
“We’re in pretty good shape,” Shelton said regarding the time left in camp for Ober to get ready. “We’re in a good spot. I think we were very diligent with just making sure that before he touched a mound in a game that his delivery was in a space that [he was happy with].”
Red Sox starting rotation
Possibly the most interesting aspect to this year’s camp for the Boston Red Sox will be who secures that fifth spot in the pitching rotation to start that year.
Headlined by Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet, bolstered by newcomers Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray, and young phenom Brayan Bello, there are also three other arms poised to take down the final spot in the rotation.
Those names include top prospects Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, as well as the righty who made his third Spring Training start of the year on Saturday afternoon, Johan Oviedo.
Oviedo, who was acquired via trade from Pittsburgh this offseason, continued his scoreless spring for the Sox Saturday afternoon in a 2-0 rain-shortened win over Tampa Bay.
Across 3 1/3 innings, Oviedo allowed two hits and struck out four without allowing a free pass. He threw 47 pitches, with 32 of them for strikes.
In the 6-foot-6 Cuban native’s first Spring Training start, he gave up three walks. In two starts since, his control has substantially improved.
“We executed pitches,” Oviedo said. “That’s the main planning in here — get ahead and try to not walk and give free bases. We’re looking for results.”
Maybe most impressive was the 28-year-old’s fastball, which clocked in a hair under 98 mph consistently. All four of Oviedo’s strikeouts came via batters swinging through the heater.
“We just keep working and getting improvement every start,” Oviedo said of his fastball control. “The main goal is to get ahead, command the four-seamer, play around the zone and get good results.”
Having undergone Tommy John surgery in 2024, last year Oviedo made nine starts for the Pirates, posting a 3.57 ERA with 42 strikeouts across 40 1/3 innings, with opposing hitters batting just .182 against him. In his last full season in 2023, Oviedo pitched to a 4.31 ERA across 32 starts and 177 2/3 innings.
This year, he’s hoping to be the fifth man in a Red Sox rotation with stability in front of whomever that final starter will be.
“All of my energy [goes towards] working hard every day and trying to complement everything that the team and the coaches want me to do,” Oviedo said. “I just want to be healthy and let them decide what’s best for the team.”
While Oviedo voiced his what’s-best-for-the-team mindset, he admits he wants the job.
“I would be lying if I said ‘no,’ but for me, it’s more about a fight against myself,” Oviedo said.
“Main goal is always get better every day — on workouts and pitches, on trying to do my homework every day. As long as I can do that, everything will be in place.”
Oviedo has not allowed a run over eight innings of Grapefruit League play, striking out nine and allowing just five hits to a .185 opponent batting average.
“He can live in the strike zone,” Manager Alex Cora said. “He induces weak contact. There’s swings and misses. If we keep doing that, we’re going to have a good one.”
Of where his control has shifted from that first outing to now, Cora said, “It’s a mindset. Bello kind of showed him who he is in the strike zone compared to other good ones in the league, and, when that happens, he’s one of the best. The numbers show that. We’ve just got to stay in the strike zone.”
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com