ST. PETERSBURG -- When the Twins-Rays Spring Training game was halted by rain in the fifth inning on Tuesday, Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett used the break to head down the hallway to the visitors' clubhouse.

But Bartlett's trip to see his former teammates wasn't exactly what he expected.

"I didn't know half the guys there," Bartlett said with a laugh. "Obviously, I knew Nick [Punto], [Michael] Cuddyer and a few others, but a lot of infielders I didn't recognize, and the pitchers, too. It's weird. The guys that I thought were the younger guys are actually the team leaders now -- Joe [Mauer], [Justin] Morneau, Cuddy."

The Twins' roster changed quite significantly during the offseason due to some moves by the club. That included the trade which sent Bartlett, pitcher Matt Garza and Minor League pitcher Eduardo Morlan to the Rays in exchange for outfielders Delmon Young and Jason Pridie and infielder Brendan Harris.

Tuesday's contest between the two clubs marked the first time that Bartlett had seen some of his former teammates since the Nov. 28 trade.

The deal came as a surprise to Bartlett, who had been labeled within Minnesota's organization as the shortstop of the future. His name had not been thrown around in any other trade rumors, so when he got the call in late November about the deal, he was admittedly unprepared for the news.

"It was hard at first, because I loved being there," Bartlett said. "The guys were great. We had fun playing together and I was comfortable there."

Bartlett said that he didn't let the disappointment linger. He headed up to the St. Petersburg area from Fort Myers on Jan. 1 to get to know his new surroundings. The shortstop said that while it's taken some time, both he and Garza have adjusted well to their new team, partly because it's not that different from the one they left.

The Rays are a similar group to the Twins in their makeup of young talent, but it's even younger than Minnesota's roster. At 27, Bartlett is considered to be one of the more veteran players, along with two other new additions, outfielder Cliff Floyd and right-hander Troy Percival.

"They talk about having Cliff and Perce come in here, but I think I can bring a lot as well," Bartlett said. "Coming from an organization where they didn't always have the most talent but always won, I think I've learned that it comes from having a great clubhouse atmosphere where guys enjoy playing with each other and having a good time. That's what we are trying to do here."

Bartlett has adjusted well, but he admitted that playing against his former team was one of the most enjoyable parts of his spring so far.

"I got pumped up today, I'm not going to lie," Bartlett said. "It was fun. They are good guys over there and I wish them all nothing but the best."

Rain shortened: Since Tuesday's game was canceled in the top of the fifth, only two of the seven Twins pitchers on the trip were able to get on the mound -- starter Boof Bonser and right-hander Nick Blackburn.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said he wasn't too concerned about the lack of work since the Twins have a split-squad day on Friday, with one game at the Red Sox and the other at the Blue Jays. That should provide more innings for some of the pitchers. The skipper also said that Boston has approached Minnesota about another potential "B" game between the two squads.

"If we run into pitching problems, not getting guys in, we could always do that," Gardenhire said.

Ramping it up: Bonser continued to show the effects of his 30-pound weight loss in his outing against the Rays.

The right-hander pitched three innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three. Most encouraging to him, though, has been what he feels is an increased velocity and more movement in his pitches, especially his sinker.

Gardenhire has also noticed the difference.

"It was pretty effortless," Gardenhire said of Bonser's pitches. "He's got a good angle now. I think he feels better. I think he's kind of feeling the difference [with his weight loss]."

Twins tidbits: Right-hander Jesse Crain said his shoulder felt good the day after he threw in a game for the first since his shoulder surgery last May. The expectation remains that Crain will likely see his next game action on Friday. ... Philip Humber took a line drive off his right forearm during Monday's game against the Reds. It came as part of a 1-2-3 inning for the right-hander. Humber had a solid bruise very close to his elbow, but the pitcher said he was just relieved that it didn't actually strike his elbow. ... Closer Joe Nathan threw a bullpen session in Fort Myers on Tuesday. Nathan said he caught his ankle awkwardly on the mound when he last pitched on Saturday against the Red Sox, and the team wanted to be cautious with it before putting him back in a game.

Quotable: "The umpires, instead of talking about the rain on our heads, that's what they wanted to talk about, 'Who was that guy?' He had a good curveball, and a good fastball, in and out. It was a brief performance, but that was kind of what we were hoping to see out of him. ... We really like him a lot and we liked him a lot last year. I think he can help us." -- Gardenhire, on the performance of Blackburn, who struck out two batters in his lone inning Tuesday before the rain came

Up next: The Twins will get their first national exposure of the spring on Wednesday when they face the Yankees in a 12:15 p.m. CT contest on ESPN. Right-hander Kevin Slowey will make his first start of the spring. Mauer, Morneau, Young and Harris are also expected to make the trip and will match up against Yankees right-hander Ian Kennedy.