When Nishi first arrived in Spring Training last year, he practiced on a separate field, didn't wear the Twins uniform (something about earning the honor to wear it), and had an army of Japanese press tracking his every move. I can't speak to how well he was received by his teamates, but from a fan's perspective he seemed to distance himself from the team. It just seems like he made the wrong first impression and with his injury occuring so quickly into the season, he was never able to be comfortable with himself and his teamates until the season was lost.
Here's hoping a normal spring training can allow him to fulfill the ability that Bill Smith and his scouts saw when they signed him.