Liriano, whose arrival has been delayed due to visa problems stemming from a 2006 drunken driving arrest, was noticeably absent during Monday's first workout for pitchers and catchers. But so, too, was another pitcher, left-hander Dennys Reyes.

Reyes discovered earlier this week that his passport is set to expire in three weeks. So the Mexican native cannot leave the country until he gets an updated one.

Twins general manager Bill Smith was not pleased by Reyes' delay, blaming the late arrival on the pitcher himself.

"I guess the best way to characterize it is careless," Smith said. "He's had four months to take care of some of this business, and he didn't do it. So it's unfortunate and disappointing."

Smith said that Reyes is expected to obtain his new passport on Monday and travel to Fort Myers on Tuesday. Reyes should then rejoin the team for Wednesday's workout.

The Twins could also be missing a position player when the first official team workout is held on Saturday. Infielder Alexi Casilla missed his visa appointment this past week in the Dominican Republic due to what Smith called a "legitimate family medical emergency." The Twins are trying to help get Casilla's appointment rescheduled as soon as possible, with a little bit of help from Major League Baseball.

"We're trying to work through the right channels rather than have everybody bombard the [U.S.] consulate down there," Smith said. "Given the circumstances, we'll try to see if we can get him an earlier appointment so he can come at the right time.

"But again, he's not one that we really worry about. Alexi played all winter, so it's not like he's out of shape."

As for Liriano's situation, the pitcher isn't expected to be in camp until the end of the week, at the earliest. Smith said he talked Monday with the club's Dominican scout, Fred Guerrero, who told him that Liriano passed a mandatory sobriety test on Friday and now is scheduled to meet with a panel physician for a counseling session on Tuesday.

"We are optimistic that once he clears that hurdle that the consulate will process his visa as quickly as possible," Smith said.

While Liriano has been waiting for his visa, Smith said that the 24-year-old lefty has been throwing and working out in his hometown near Santa Domingo, D.R. But if Liriano is not able to get his visa by Wednesday, he likely will head to the Twins' Dominican Academy and throw a bullpen or an inning in a game there before finally traveling to Fort Myers.

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"Hopefully, he will be here in a few days," Smith said.

Seeing the changes: With Monday marking the first official workout for the Twins, manager Ron Gardenhire held his first meeting of spring with his team. Usually the meetings are quite short and to the point, but Gardenhire admitted that this one took a little longer than usual.

Mostly because Gardenhire said he had to re-emphasize the way that the Twins go about their business to all the new players that have joined the organization.

"Every spring you look at the roster for names, and this one moreso than others," Gardenhire said. "There are a lot of new guys. I think 30 different players, we counted. I think that's what it is. So it's a lot of new people."

Catching on: Tommy Watkins made his Major League debut last season as an infielder for the Twins. But if he makes the roster out of spring this year, it likely will be due to him adding another skill -- catching.

Watkins was one of eight catchers in camp on Monday. The decision to report to camp as a catcher came back in December, Watkins said. The Fort Myers native traveled up to Minnesota for Jake Mauer's wedding, and that's when Joe Mauer suggested to Watkins that he show off his catching skills this spring.

"When Joe picked me up from the airport, he said I think you should show them you can catch," Watkins said. "He said, 'If you do that, you might have a chance to make the team because you could be an emergency third catcher.' And I know, the more versatile I am, the more chance I have to make the team."

Watkins has been catching bullpens on the Minor League side of the Lee County Sports complex for the past couple weeks. He said it's something he's done during his past few Minor League seasons to help out the catchers when they needed it. But some of the other areas of the position haven't come quite as easy -- like say, catching popups behind the plate.

"The popups were definitely a little tricky," Watkins said with a laugh. "I always used to see [the catchers] going through that and laugh. I wasn't quite laughing so much today."

Not quite done: The transformation of Boof Bonser's appearance has continued into the spring.

Bonser weighed in Sunday at 236 pounds, bringing his total weight loss to 29 pounds. It's quite a significant change from last season, when the pitcher topped out at a little over 270 pounds.

But Bonser said he's not about to be done cutting weight just yet. His goal is get his weight to somewhere between 230 and 235 pounds before the season starts.

"I'm going to see what I can do," Bonser said. "It all depends on what I can get done when I'm at the field eating-wise. It's tough to lose weight during the season, because at the field, you can only eat what's there. Hopefully, I can drop the weight now, and then it won't be as hard to keep it off when the season comes."

Twins tidbits: A handful of position players arrived at camp on Monday, including Justin Morneau, Brendan Harris, Carlos Gomez and Brian Buscher. They took part in some drills and hitting on the back Minor League fields while the pitchers and catchers held their first workout. ... Joe Nathan's agent, Dave Pepe, is expected to arrive in Fort Myers today as part of his usual Spring Training tour. Pepe is expected to meet with the Twins' front office before he departs on Wednesday, but whether more contract extension talks will take place is still unclear. ... Smith said he spoke with injured left-hander Jose Mijares on Monday morning. Mijares, who fractured his left elbow in a car accident on Jan. 17, is running and working out in Venezuela. He's expected to arrive in Fort Myers as soon as he can begin his official rehabilitation process, which will be supervised by Twins Minor League rehab coordinator Lanny Tucker. Mijares should be in camp in the coming weeks, but he won't be able to throw for at least another month. ... The Twins will face Concordia University in their annual scrimmage on Tuesday. Smith also said that the club could hold an intrasquad game on Wednesday. The Twins haven't scheduled any intrasquad games in recent years, but with so many new players the club felt it might be beneficial.

Quotable: "We've got some very big guys that came into camp, and we got some little guys. He's one of the little guys now."-- Gardenhire on Bonser's significant weight loss this offseason.