"Twins closer Joe Nathan left his first bullpen session of the spring the way pitching coach Rick Anderson wanted to see him.

"The biggest thing," Anderson said, "is when he walked off the mound, he was smiling. That tells you it went good."

Nathan's eight-minute bullpen session Wednesday morning was the first time Anderson had seen the Twins' career saves leader throw since Nathan had season-ending elbow surgery last March 26. It couldn't have gone better.

"Outstanding," Anderson said. "I told Joe, 'That's the freest and easiest that I've seen your arm.' That's kind of what you look for. The ball came out of his hand good, and the biggest thing is he feels great. He looked really good, not favoring anything. It just looked free and easy."

Pitchers and catchers are due to report to the Lee County Sports Complex this morning for the official start of Twins spring training.

Nathan called the session — he threw about 50 pitches — "a nice step" physically in his recovery from Tommy John surgery that canceled his 2010 season. A rigorous offseason workout regimen apparently has done more than rehab his elbow. Nathan's arm extension might be better than it ever has been at the start of spring training, he said.

Emotionally, the session was more than just nice. The last time he pitched in Fort Myers, Nathan was hoping he could rehab a torn ulnar collateral ligament that ultimately was partially replaced. Getting back on a mound in Florida "is big for me," he said. "