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Twins’ Anibal Sanchez looking forward to reunion with Logan Morrison

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Anibal Sanchez and Logan Morrison were Florida/Miami Marlins teammate for 2½ seasons at the start of the decade, so Sanchez was pleased to hear the news that the slugging first baseman would be joining him with the Twins.

“My agent called me (Sunday) and let me know,” said Sanchez, a veteran right-hander who signed as a free agent on Feb. 19. “He’s really good. Great person, great player. I like him. And he’s a really, really good teammate.”

That last part echoed the sentiments of fellow right-hander Jake Odorizzi, who spent the past two seasons with Morrison (aka LoMo) on the Tampa Bay Rays. Morrison agreed Sunday to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the potential to make another $10 million in a two-year span.

“I think that … one of the keys of this team is to find out if players can play but at the same time bring some personality to the clubhouse,” Sanchez said. “He’s fun. It’s going to be fun when he comes here. I think he knows guys on the team. He’s going to feel comfortable from the first day.”

Morrison, 30, has matured considerably on and off the field since he broke in. Married since 2013 and a father since 2015, he overcame knee issues with the Marlins in 2012-13 and a hamstring problem with the Seattle Mariners in 2014.

“Everybody changes when they have kids,” Sanchez said. “It’s a whole different life. Baseball is not your only priority. You have another person you take care of.”

Over Morrison’s past four seasons, the left-handed hitter has averaged 20 home runs, a .438 slugging percentage and park-adjusted production that has been 11 percent above league average. Morrison has produced a cumulative 4.7 wins above replacement (per Fangraphs) in that span, which ranks him one spot behind new teammate Joe Mauer (5.0) among all first basemen with at least 1,000 plate appearances.

Mauer ranks 19th, Morrison 20th.

Among all left-handed hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers, Morrison ranks 37th with a .462 slugging percentage and 45th with a weighted runs created plus that is 15 percent above league average.

In slugging he is just ahead of switch-hitter Carlos Santana, who signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies this winter. His neighbors in the wRC+ ranking include Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Shin-Soo Choo and former Rays teammate Kevin Kiermaier.

Sanchez plan

As for his Twins debut on Tuesday, Sanchez is scheduled to work the typical two innings and 30 pitches in relief of Jose Berrios, who is lined up to start on Opening Day in Baltimore.

“I’m fine. I feel good,” Sanchez said. “I don’t have a problem with anything.”

With a non-guaranteed contract at $2.5 million and a chance to make up to $5 million total through performance bonuses, might Sanchez request more innings than usual this spring?

“I think normally, on average, my whole career, it’s around 25 to 30 innings in spring training,” he said. “It depends on how I feel and what position I’m going to throw in the rotation. The last outing is sometimes shorter or longer, depending on how many days I have before the first game of the season.”

Looking to build on the gains of a late-season resurgence with the Detroit Tigers last season, Sanchez said he hasn’t made any mechanical changes since joining the Twins.

“I just have to be myself this year,” he said. “I don’t want to try to do anything different.”

Briefly

— Odorizzi won’t make his spring debut until Thursday at the soonest despite throwing a bullpen session on Sunday. Right-hander Aaron Slegers is scheduled to start Wednesday at home against the Tampa Bay Rays, while lefty Stephen Gonsalves starts across the state against the Houston Astros in a split-squad game.

— Phil Hughes worked two scoreless innings in his spring debut after his second straight season-ending surgery. He topped out at 91 mph, up a tick from last season, and started all seven batters with strikes. … Erick Aybar banged out two hits in his first Twins start, including a run-scoring single to end a 10-pitch at-bat. He also made a flat-footed throwing error from third base, where he has made just 12 starts in his 12 big-league seasons.

— MLB officials Joe Torre and Peter Woodfork will visit Twins camp Wednesday afternoon to discuss new mound-visit restrictions and other pace-of-play initiatives with manager Paul Molitor and club officials.

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