FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins manager Rocco Baldelli had read the reports and heard the chatter surrounding right-hander Jordan Balazovic, and he was just as excited as others were to finally see the organization's top pitching prospect in game action.

Baldelli never made it over to St. Paul last September to see Balazovic when the right-hander was a late arrival to the club's alternate training site. He didn't get too good of a look on Thursday, either, mainly because Balazovic made such quick work of the Red Sox in a 10-pitch eighth inning during the Twins' 5-4 loss at Hammond Stadium.

"It was nice to see him out there in some game action," Baldelli said. "He’s been getting himself even more ready physically, mentally, to come out here and pitch. He’s probably been antsy and waiting very patiently for the opportunities to come. And there it is. We got a chance to go out there and see him do his thing."

Balazovic, ranked No. 4 in the organization by MLB Pipeline, flashed all three of his pitches in his perfect frame, inducing a flyout from Jonathan Araúz, a groundout from J.D. Martinez and a flyout from Chad De La Guerra with his fastball. That heater topped out at 93.6 mph in Balazovic's brief outing -- not quite in the 95-97-mph range that the lanky right-hander has been said to hit, but still a reflection of the work he's done on his body and velocity during his time in the Twins' organization.

The 22-year-old was said to be up to 217 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame earlier this offseason, and he's likely tracking behind fellow top pitching prospect Jhoan Duran, who spent the entire 2020 season at the alternate training site. Still, Balazovic's development should have him on track to reach Minnesota by next season at the latest, a path that took another meaningful step with this opportunity to see his first hitters in another uniform since the '19 Minor League playoffs.

"He’s obviously a really talented young man," Baldelli said. "He’s got good stuff. He’s got a little bit of funk and interestingness in that delivery, too, which probably helps him effect-wise, to get some bad swings and create some deception. So it was nice to get him out there, get him comfortable and hopefully we can get him out there again and see him pitch again."

Buxton out due to root canal
Byron Buxton hasn't appeared in a game since Sunday's eight-inning contest against Tampa Bay because of a broken tooth that required a root canal and the placement of a crown, the Twins announced on Wednesday. The incident is said to have occurred when Buxton was chewing on a steak.

The Twins expect Buxton back "very soon," per Baldelli. He has made four appearances this spring (not including last Saturday's rainout against Boston) after arriving in camp with 10-15 pounds of extra muscle on his frame following an offseason of conditioning work.

"We wanted to make sure that it got done now, so that it wasn’t something that was going to linger on and potentially have to get worked on close to Opening Day or even after Opening Day," Baldelli said. "So Buck’s also doing better each day."

Kepler, Celestino exit for precautionary reasons
Max Kepler was removed following the third inning of Thursday's game for precautionary reasons after fouling a ball off of his left thigh in his second plate appearance of the game. He hit the next pitch to the right-field warning track to end the frame, but he didn't take the field on defense to start the fourth inning.

Kepler was making his first start in center field this spring, due in part to Buxton's absence, and was replaced in the game by Minor League depth player Drew Maggi, who brought the Twins within one run with his two-run home run in the eighth.

"Kep's going to be OK," Baldelli said. "I bet he has a pretty good bruise that he's going to wake up with, but I would expect him to be fine."

Later in the game, the Twins dropped another outfielder when Gilberto Celestino, the No. 9 prospect in the organization, slid awkwardly into second base following his eighth-inning RBI double. He was examined by a trainer and jogged around the infield dirt, appearing to make his case to stay in the game, but Baldelli got him off the field due to what he described as a "bad scrape."

Thielbar throwing live sessions
Left-hander Caleb Thielbar has recovered from his back strain to the point where he has thrown several live sessions against hitters, and Baldelli expects to see the reliever in Spring Training games throughout the second half of Grapefruit League play. If Thielbar is able to ramp up for the regular season, he would likely be part of the Opening Day bullpen after posting a 2.25 ERA last year.

"He’s been throwing the ball and he’s throwing it really well," Baldelli said. "He’s letting it loose. I don’t think there’s anything inhibiting him at this point."

Up next
The Twins have tentatively targeted Friday as Andrelton Simmons' spring debut following his late arrival to camp due to travel documentation issues in leaving his native Curaçao. Even if he does progress to the field for the 12:05 p.m. CT matchup against the Braves at Hammond Stadium, it's unlikely that the Twins would have their full new-look infield on the diamond, considering Josh Donaldson and Jorge Polanco both played on Thursday. Michael Pineda will start for Minnesota opposite Atlanta right-hander Huascar Ynoa. Watch all the action live on MLB.TV or listen on MLB Audio.