Here are a few bonus items on Livan Hernandez, which I couldn’t squeeze into today’s profile.

(*) Tony Oliva said he is excited to have another Cuban-born player with the Twins. What impresses Oliva the most about Hernandez is how he has transformed himself from a power pitcher to a control specialist.

“We have a very young team,” Oliva said. “To have a veteran who can pitch every five days is good for the young guys.”

(*) Twins pitcher Casey Daigle got to know Hernandez as teammates in Arizona the past two years.

“He’d give you the shirt off his back,” Daigle said.

Daigle said Hernandez is a pitcher with an uncanny knack for rising to the occasion. It also works on the golf course.

“If there’s a chip or a put or a wedge shot, with money on the line, he’ll nail it about seven out of 10 times.”

(*) Also, Hernandez has come a long way this week since Ron Gardenhire had a talk with him after the first workout.

Said Gardenhire: “I told him, ‘We signed you for a reason. You’re a veteran here and people are going to watch you, and if you’re casual about some of the things you do around here, they’re going to follow. Some of these young kids are going to follow. He says, ‘Yeah, Arizona said the same thing over there.’

“He’s been doing great, ever since the first day. He had the earrings in — he forgot ‘em. He’s just trying to fit in and relax. … I planned on talking to him before [the workout], and when I saw him, he was on the cell phone in the clubhouse.”

Gardy laughed. People aren’t allowed to talk on cell phones in the Twins’ clubhouse. But Hernandez didn’t know that at the time.

“He’s been great,” Gardenhire said. “He really is unbelievable. He’s a pretty good teammate.”

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