MINNEAPOLIS -- It rained bombas once again at Target Field on Friday afternoon. It also actually rained for a few minutes, even under hot and sunny skies. That juxtaposition of the ordinary and the bizarre was, frankly, quite befitting of the first day of camp for a baseball season unlike any in the game's history.

In some ways, much seemed normal about everything that happened on the field. José Berríos threw about 45 pitches of live batting practice over three simulated innings, joined by Randy Dobnak, Zack Littell and Jorge Alcala. Nelson Cruz still smacked baseballs into the third deck, and Max Kepler sprayed line drives all over the field, as usual.

Look a little closer, though, and you realize it's not an ordinary batting practice. Baserunners practiced their leads and jumps while the pitcher worked on the mound, and infielders and outfielders practiced their reads behind them in a multitasking display on the field, indicative of the short time necessary to conduct all of those normally disparate activities.

And, well, it's hard to ignore the masks draped over almost everybody's faces.

"Wearing masks, in Japan, is a cultural thing, so I'm used to wearing a mask," Kenta Maeda said.

Mask-wearing was a rather unfamiliar practice for everyone else, and its presence on the baseball field is the most glaring indicator of the abnormality of Summer Camp, which officially got underway for the Twins with conditioning work, bullpen sessions, fielding drills and batting practice.

Almost everything took place outdoors -- drills, meetings, lounging -- to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, a precaution made all the more important because the Twins announced that four members of their 60-man player pool had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

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"Being outside all day long, it almost feels like you're at a youth tournament," manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Baldelli noted that he and the Twins staff were largely pleased with the physical and baseball conditioning of all of the players in camp. With pitching coach Wes Johnson monitoring via video chats, the team's pitchers had remained at a plateau of activity dictated by where they left off in Spring Training, and chief baseball officer Derek Falvey noted that the pitching group arrived in camp in better condition than expected.

It's tougher for position players to maintain organized activity and their hitting eye in absence of regularly facing pitchers, and Ehire Adrianza was glad to be back in a more organized setting -- and also pleased that he no longer had to interact with his teammates solely via Zoom chats and videogames.

"Before I got here, I was at home sprinting in the parking lot of my house, working out with my brother, and hitting off the tee with my dad in the backyard," Adrianza said. "It was tough because it's not the same thing as when you have your routine and all of a sudden it changed."

Neither Maeda nor Adrianza seemed overly concerned about their risk of contracting COVID-19, but it's natural for there to be trepidation among individuals during this three-week camp, especially with the disease already having permeated the 60-man roster. But looking at the buzz of activity on the field on Friday, the excitement of simply being back together was palpable.

"It almost doesn't feel like the same season, if I'm being honest," Falvey said. "It feels like a totally different season at this point. But it's good to see some guys get back together. You can tell. There were a lot of smiles on their faces from just being around and playing baseball, what they love to do."

Hill looks 'completely healthy'
The Twins are the healthiest they have been in a long time thanks to the three-plus months away from the field, and the most significant recovery is that of left-hander Rich Hill, who threw a bullpen session Friday and appears well on track to be ready for Opening Day.

When the Twins signed Hill to a one-year deal during the offseason, they did so knowing that he wouldn't be available until June or July following a "primary repair" procedure in his left elbow. The several months of pandemic-related delays have now allowed Hill's recovery timeline to catch up, and the Twins now could have the highly successful veteran for the entire regular season.

"I can't tell you how impressive his ability to stick to a plan throughout a pandemic has been," Baldelli said. "We've been following his bullpen sessions that he's Zoomed weekly, and sometimes, multiple times during the week. I don't think it's possible for him to be in a better position than he is in right now. ... He looks like a completely healthy pitcher to the eye."

Neither Baldelli nor Falvey could offer a specific pitch count for Hill's session on Friday, but Falvey noted that Hill had been throwing 75 or more pitches in his bullpen sessions last week, prior to his arrival in Minneapolis. All indications remain good that Hill can be an immediate part of the starting rotation.

"It basically just comes down to him and our staff just staying on it throughout this period of time," Baldelli said. "I'd expect him to -- you never want to get too far ahead of yourself -- I would not be surprised if he is fully healthy and ready to go by the start of this season."

Twins tidbits
• Byron Buxton announced the birth of his second child, Blaze Jett Buxton, via Instagram on Friday. Buxton and Cody Stashak, who also recently had a child, are expected to be late arrivals to camp.

• Maeda said he worked out alongside Reds outfielder and countryman Shogo Akiyama as he waited out the quarantine at home in Los Angeles. The right-hander said he was throwing bullpen sessions of around 50 pitches to stay loose in preparation for the season and began his ramp-up process about two weeks ago. He threw a 30-pitch session at Target Field on Thursday.

• Michael Pineda was part of the group working out at Target Field on Friday. Pineda will not be eligible to pitch until early September as he serves the remaining 36 games of a 60-game suspension incurred last September after testing positive for a banned diuretic.

• Falvey indicated that there is a possibility of the Twins playing in at least one exhibition game against another team at the conclusion of Summer Camp, though no concrete plans have been established.