Lonesome no more: Carew, Oliva reunite at spring camp

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Rod Carew usually arrives to Twins camp after Tony Oliva every spring, so Carew had no idea what to do when he beat his longtime roommate to Fort Myers this season.

"Are you lonesome?" people would ask playfully as Carew walked around.

Well, actually, yes. Can you blame him?

For the most recent decade and a half of the franchise legends' 55-year-long friendship, Spring Training is an almost metronomic event for Carew, Oliva and their wives. It's their time to enjoy each other's company and share nuggets of their cumulative treasure trove of wisdom with the Twins' clubhouse of the present.

It's rare to see them more than 3 feet apart this time of year -- so imagine how tough it must have been when they were nearly 2,000 miles away from each other this time last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Oliva at home in Bloomington, Minn., and Carew in Southern California. Imagine, then, how much it meant for them to be reunited in this environment upon Oliva's arrival to Hammond Stadium on Wednesday.

"To be able to be back this year again, it's really hard to describe," Oliva said. "You miss one year and you're 80-plus years old, you think, 'Hey, could there be another time where I come to Spring Training again?'"

It took them a day to get back into their rhythm.

When Oliva arrived in Fort Myers on Wednesday, his room at the hotel wasn't ready, so Carew told him to come to the ballpark. By the time Oliva showed up, Carew had already left -- and once Oliva got back to the hotel, Carew was so tired that it took hours before they could get hold of each other.

And in a typical spring, Carew will drive from his hotel to Oliva's apartment to give his old "roomie" a ride to the ballpark every day. This time, as they shared a hotel, Oliva decided to drive instead -- and found himself taking a different route to the stadium than Carew wanted.

"I didn't want to take the freeway," Oliva said. "Good roommates have to disagree sometimes. It's not a problem."

They'll find their rhythm soon enough, and once they do, Carew has one question for his dear friend.

"Now that you’re a Hall of Famer and you’re making all that money, why don’t you give me a loan or something?" he said with a laugh.

Timelines for the new arrivals in camp
When will the newest Minnesota Twins get into Spring Training games? We should know soon.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said the Twins would finalize Carlos Correa's timeline on Friday, after the star shortstop said Wednesday morning that he hoped to get into games by the weekend. Reliever Joe Smith, signed in free agency on Sunday, is first expected to pitch on Saturday.

There's still no certainty as to when Sonny Gray will first take the mound in a game. The right-hander, acquired on March 13 in a trade with the Reds, threw live batting practice on Tuesday and is expected to throw another bullpen session either Friday or Saturday.

With Opening Day two weeks away, there's not much time for Gray to ramp up, especially since the Twins typically start their pitchers at two innings in their first spring game and ramp up by one inning in each subsequent start.

Worth noting
Right-handed reliever Ralph Garza Jr. was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox on Thursday. He had been designated for assignment or release on Wednesday to make room for Correa on the 40-man roster.