MINNEAPOLIS -- This series, Charlie Montoyo is in the visiting Blue Jays' dugout, across the diamond from his old friend and colleague, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. But before both first-year managers were hired this past offseason, Montoyo would playfully tease Baldelli that he should pursue Toronto's job himself.

"I put the Blue Jays' media guide in his locker because they were one of the teams looking for a manager," Montoyo said. "The trend in baseball was looking for guys like him. The whole time I was messing with him, 'Come on man, take it. They're going to interview and stuff.'"

Montoyo and Baldelli have a long-standing relationship, starting in 2002, when Montoyo managed the then-20-year-old when he played with Tampa Bay's Class A Advanced affiliate, the Bakersfield Blaze. They have remained close, and they reunited on the Rays' 2015 coaching staff, when Baldelli coached first base and Montoyo coached third.

"He's like my son, but then he's like my brother," Montoyo said. "We fight, we make fun of each other. He's one of my best friends in baseball for sure."

Baldelli said during Spring Training that he had probably spent more time talking to Montoyo about the transition to the manager's chair than he had with anybody else. He said that those conversations have continued into the regular season, albeit with reduced frequency given their demanding schedules.

"It's fun and kind of cool knowing that we're going through some similar things at the same time, and we can talk about pretty much anything, like we always have," Baldelli said. "But we pretty much get into everything. We'll get into some politics, we'll get into what's going on at home, we'll get into a lot of different things."

Though this is Baldelli's first managerial job at any level, Montoyo said that he had thought Baldelli could make a good manager. He was impressed with Baldelli's thought processes and analysis as the pair constantly talked baseball while on Kevin Cash's Tampa Bay staff.

"Yes, because last year I was the bench coach and he was the field coordinator," Montoyo said. "That whole time we were talking baseball, and I was impressed by how he was seeing the game. I said, 'Man, that's pretty good for not managing anywhere.'"

When the Cash-led Rays played at Hammond Stadium, the Twins' Spring Training home in Fort Myers, Fla., Baldelli and his coaching staff played light pranks on Cash, featuring a collage of photos and unflattering camera angles on the Jumbotron. Baldelli maintained that he didn't have anything planned for Montoyo yet on this homestand.

"We have nothing crazy planned yet, but it's a four-game stand," Baldelli said. "We could possibly see some stuff. I actually don't have anything 100 percent locked in at the moment. So I can't give any hints. But the big screen generally is the place you can find a lot of the stuff when it does happen."

Twins integrate several elements into Jackie Robinson celebration
As part of the league-wide commemoration of Jackie Robinson Day during Monday's games, the Twins invited a strong level of on-field community engagement at Target Field for their centennial celebration of Robinson's birth. All players, coaches and umpires also wore the number 42, continuing the tradition.

"I'm very thankful," Byron Buxton said. "He paved the way for me to be able to put on the uniform, not just today, but each and every game. I'm very blessed to be able to come out here and wear number 42."

Melvin Carter, the first African American mayor of St. Paul, was invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game, and the varsity baseball teams from Patrick Henry High School in north Minneapolis and North Community High School stood on the field with their Major League counterparts during the playing of the national anthem.

Through their "Reading is Powerful" program, the Twins also invited select students, nominated by their teachers as embodying Jackie Robinson's Nine Values, to be recognized during the game and take part in on-field ceremonies.

"I think everyone here knows how important this day is," Baldelli said. "But Jackie's a person and a symbol for everyone here throughout the year. Someone who changed the course of the lives for many, many people. It's very, very meaningful, and it gives you a good feeling to throw this shirt on, wear it outside and let everyone know how much it matters."

Garver hits leadoff for first time in career
Twins backup catcher Mitch Garver got limited experience hitting leadoff during Spring Training, but he said he thought it was just a way to get him extra at-bats early in spring games before he exited.

But with normal leadoff hitter Max Kepler getting his first day off on Monday, Baldelli sent Garver a text on Sunday night telling him that he would hit leadoff for the first time in a regular-season game. Garver said he never hit leadoff in the Minor Leagues, though he did for a year and a half at the University of New Mexico.

Garver went into Monday hitting .500 (11-for-22) with three doubles, three homers and five RBIs in seven games. He had multiple hits in each of his past three games, including a four-hit, two-homer game against Jacob deGrom and the Mets on April 9.

"He's a guy who has a pretty good approach up there and a good idea of what he's doing," Baldelli said. "He's also swinging the bat really well for us right now. I think he's comfortable doing it, too, which I think matters as well. I think he was a good fit. It could be something we see more of on occasion as the season goes on."

Garver became the third starting catcher to hit leadoff for the Twins since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961, and the first since Butch Wynegar did so on Aug. 23, 1980. John Roseboro also caught and hit leadoff seven times in 1968.

"I think the idea of a leadoff hitter has been so set in stone in this game," Garver said. "It's a guy who can put the ball on the ground and run the bases and is fast, right? But the lineup that we have, we have nine guys that can drive the ball all around the yard and over the fence. Really, you can put anybody in the leadoff spot and we'd probably be just fine."