FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -Boof Bonser caused his share of double-takes from Twins teammates and coaches when he walked through the clubhouse upon arrival at spring training this week.
It sounded like some high-school reunion, with the 26-year-old drawing rave reviews of his trimmed physique from people who hadn’t seen him in months and everyone asking just how many pounds he lost.
“About 30,” was Bonser’s answer. That puts him at about 235 pounds, a weight the team is much more comfortable with for a leading candidate to take one of the open spots at the front of the rotation.
“He looks great. That’s kind of what we had all talked about last year at the end, something that might help him,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Bonser showed promise as a rookie in 2006, when he posted a 7-6 record and a 4.22 ERA over 18 starts and 100-plus innings and even started the second game of the opening playoff series. He held Oakland to two runs in six innings.
Last season wasn’t so smooth for the right-hander who came to Minnesota with Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano in the famously lopsided trade with San Francisco for catcher A.J. Pierzynski in November 2003. Bonser went 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA in 173 innings. He made 30 starts, but he was yanked in the sixth or earlier too many times. May was excellent: a 4-0 record and 2.45 ERA. But the other months were more of a struggle.
“The numbers I put up, I obviously didn’t like that,” Bonser said. “I wasn’t too nervous. It was just the whole fact of trying to read hitters and stuff like that and learning what’s going on.”
Bonser downplayed the effect his weight had on his endurance, but he was eager to dedicate himself to a better diet and began the process soon after the Twins played their final game. He hired a nutritionist to help make better food choices, and he’s considering ordering healthy portions from an outside restaurant when the season begins to avoid the greasy, high-calorie spread in the clubhouse.
“Bonser worked hard, but he worked hard on the field and off the field,” Gardenhire said. “He worked hard at dinner time. As an athlete, you have to know how to take care of yourself. I’m not being mean. I’m just saying that some guys really know how to take care of themselves off the field, and it’s a learning process. … He’s taken it by the horns, and I think you see the product out there.”
Bonser’s goal is to pitch more than 200 innings and to win more games than he loses.
“The energy’s still there. I feel like it’s a little bit easier, but everything else is the same,” he said, adding: “My mom made the joke: ‘I put so much money into making you as big as you were, and all of a sudden you cut it off.’ She understands why I’m doing it, and what it’s for.”
Catcher Mike Redmond expressed his admiration.
“Going into the offseason, it’s tough, because you finally get a break and you get some freedom,” Redmond said. “It just shows the hunger for the opportunity. He realizes that, and he’s a guy that wants to capitalize on that.”
As for Liriano, the Twins still weren’t sure exactly when he’d show up. Liriano has been throwing at the team’s development academy in the Dominican Republic while waiting for visa clearance. The hope was for the left-hander to arrive by Saturday, when the first full-squad workout takes place.
Reliever Dennys Reyes was expected to be on the field for Thursday’s workout after obtaining his passport in Mexico. Middle infielder Alexi Casilla had his visa appointment at the U.S. consulate in the Dominican moved up to Thursday, so there was a chance for him to show up by Saturday, too.
Outfielders Jason Kubel and Delmon Young were the only position players who hadn’t arrived early in the clubhouse as of Wednesday. Their first obligation is Saturday, though by Major League Baseball rule no player can be disciplined for not arriving until the mandatory reporting date next Tuesday.
Add A Comment