PORT CHARLOTTE —About 10 minutes into his batting practice session on Wednesday, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist lifted a pitch from hitting coach Derek Shelton toward right field and deposited it over the fence for an opposite field home run.

Of course, the fact that Zobrist hit a home run during a spring training batting practice session means almost nothing. But for a player who has still not gotten back up to full speed since tweaking his lower back in the weight room a week ago, it’s a step in the right direction.