FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It's been a long and frustrating road back to the mound from injury for big right-hander Michael Pineda, but he took his next step toward the Twins' Opening Day rotation on Wednesday when he faced batters for the first time as part of Minnesota's third day of live batting practice.

Pineda touched 93 miles per hour with his fastball as he threw alongside Matt Magill, Tim Collins and Fernando Romero in his first time challenging hitters since he was shut down due to injury last August.

"Everything was great for me," Pineda said. "Good velocity for my first batting practice -- 93 is a good velocity for me. I'm not really focusing on velocity right now. I'm focusing on feeling good and having good command and working on my pitches."

Pineda hasn't appeared in a Major League game since he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2017. He was on track to appear for the Twins toward the end of last season, but he suffered a setback during his Minor League rehab assignment in August, when he was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee and underwent another surgery.

Even at the end of just the first full week of workouts for pitchers and catchers, the Twins' hurlers were sitting in the low- to mid-90s on their pitches, with reliever Magill even snapping off a fastball at 96 on his first pitch of the session.

"What we preach is guys, one, taking care of their bodies," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We’re getting ready for the season, but there are guys that want to show what they can do, and you have to respect that."

Sano sustained heel injury during championship parade

Miguel Sano, with his right foot clad in a boot for the second straight day, shared that the laceration to his heel area occurred during the celebration parade for his team's Dominican Winter League championship last month.

The cut, which required 12 stitches, was sustained when Sano was standing on stage with teammates after a player on his team slipped and pushed him, causing Sano to slip down the metal stairs and scrape his leg. He didn't notice the injury until it was later pointed out to him by his wife.

"Right now I feel like it’s healing," Sano said. "It’s closing and that’s why I have the boot."

Sano is expected to be in the boot for 7-10 days, during which the team hopes that he can still work on upper-body exercises with head athletic trainer Tony Leo.

Twins announce pitching plans for Saturday's openers

Right-handers Chase De Jong and Kohl Stewart are scheduled to start the Twins' first games of the spring schedule, which begin with split-squad matchups against the Orioles and Rays on Saturday.

In the day game against the Orioles at 12:05 p.m. CT in Sarasota, De Jong is expected to be followed by Tyler Duffey, Justin Nicolino, Jake Reed, Mike Morin and Preston Guilmet. Duffey is the only pitcher of the six on the Twins' 40-man roster, after De Jong was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A to create a roster spot for Martin Perez.

The night game against the Rays at 5:05 p.m. CT will serve as Opening Night at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, during which Stewart is expected to be relieved by Magill, Trevor Hildenberger, Andrew Vasquez, Lewis Thorpe and Ryne Harper. All but Harper are on the 40-man roster, and Thorpe is the Twins' No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline.