FORT MYERS, Fla. — As Liam Hendriks approached the Hammond Stadium mound, he immediately started hollering. In an empty, silent ballpark, the veteran reliever was wondering if someone, anyone, could put on some music as he began throwing live batting practice.

This is a 2026 photo of Liam Hendriks of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. This image reflects the Minnesota Twins active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

“It was a … cemetery in there,” he said.

With no music playing, it was abundantly clear how Hendriks was feeling as he was pitching. After missing with a slider to teammate Kody Clemens for ball four, Hendriks let out a string of curse words. But when he was done facing batters for the first time since last May, Hendriks walked away mostly pleased.

“Location-wise was great, shape-wise on the breakers … (was) good,” Hendriks said. “It’s just a matter of building arm strength and for me, that’s a lot of long toss.”

Hendriks, a three-time all star who was once among the top closers in the game, has thrown just 18 2/3 innings across the past three seasons, first completing cancer treatments, then undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, before having an elbow surgery near the very end of last season.

He doesn’t have any indicators he’s looking for, but rather, what matters most is how things feel. He described himself as still feeling “muscle-y” with the fastball and not quite having the “cobra-style whip,” that he’s aiming for.

He’s hoping at some point during camp that he might be able to face teammates like Byron Buxton or Trevor Larnach, guys who he has faced during the height of his career, to get their observations on what may be different.

Hendriks, who signed a minor-league deal with the Twins and is competing for a spot in the bullpen, is not sure yet whether his next appearance will be live batting practice again or in a game.

“You can’t make the team in February. I’m trying to get to a point where mid-to-late March, I’m at “peak” level or having that consistent improvement that you can see,” Hendriks said. “But (Monday) was encouraging, and see where we go from here.”

Rojas impresses

Kendry Rojas had just reached the Triple-A level when he was traded last July. The next couple of months featured a number of new things to adjust to — better competition and a new city and organization, among them.

“It was a little uncomfortable for me at first,” he said through an interpreter of the adjustment to Triple-A. “The different talent level, the ball being different. It was a little uncomfortable for me at first.”

Rojas finished his season with a 6.59 earned-run average across eight starts at Triple-A with the Saints. But by the time the 23-year-old, one of the Twins’ top pitching prospects, entered camp, he felt much better adjusted. And on Sunday, in his first game action of the spring, he stuff certainly drew some attention.

Facing many of the Atlanta regulars, including all-stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley, Rojas threw a pair of scoreless innings, striking out three.

The Twins are building Rojas up as a starter, and the southpaw is expected to begin his season back at Triple-A. But while he’s in camp, he’s soaking up advice from Tony Oliva and trying to prove that he belongs.

“You see him live, you see how the arm works, how fast the arm works,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Very impressive.”

Briefly

In his first start of the spring, Mick Abel, who is in the mix for a spot in the rotation, threw three scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers and struck out five. Emmanuel Rodriguez, one of the Twins’ top prospects, hit a home run for the second consecutive day as the Twins beat the Tigers 3-0.  … The Twins will play split squad games on Tuesday with one group facing the Baltimore Orioles at home and another taking on the Tampa Bay Rays on the road.