The Twins are back in Fort Myers today enjoying their only day off of the spring. They’ll resume play tomorrow night when they take on the Reds at 6:05 central.

Up to this point, no race has really been decided. With just over a week until the Twins head north for their opener, the competitions are heating up.

Here are some off day Twins notes:

• The second base job looked to be Brendan Harris’ after Alexi Casilla was cut from camp last week. But comments made by manager Ron Gardenhire in the past few days may tell us otherwise. Gardenhire has said that Punto is still playing for the starting job and knowing the Twins, he‘s telling the truth. If it isn’t Harris on March 31, something is really going wrong. Their defense isn’t that much different, and Harris obviously provides more pop with his bat.

 

• Gardenhire said early in camp that Liriano would be going north with the club. There is still a very good chance that happens, but Gardenhire’s recent comments haven’t sounded as ‘for sure’ as they once did. Liriano will have a few more starts to prove his arm is ready. If it isn’t, extended spring training is a likely option. Liriano staying in Fort Myers would also give Humber, Blackburn or Perkins another shot at the rotation (assuming Slowey leads the race).

 

• The centerfield race has not cleared up in the past few days, but instead has gotten closer. Carlos Gomez has been swinging a hot bat recently, and even when he hasn’t been on base, he’s looked good. Yesterday for example, Gomez went 0-3 but managed to steal two more bases (eight overall) and score a run. Manufacturing his own runs is something the Twins will like.

 

• As we mentioned last week, Joe Nathan’s agent and the Minnesota Twins have planned a meeting to get going on the contract talks. Nathan’s agent, Dave Pepe, reportedly arrived in camp today. The two sides will have just over a week to get the deal done, and if they don’t, this may be another Torii Hunter situation.

 

• Finally, Scott Baker has battled the flu and back soreness so far this spring, but today pitched a pain-free bullpen session and should be ready to pitch in a game this weekend or shortly after. We’re hoping that he’ll be able to go when the season starts in eleven days.

I didn’t have time for a game recap yesterday, but tomorrow we’ll resume our game posting with a write-up after the conclusion of the Twins-Reds match up.