The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated first baseman Miguel Sano from the 60-day injured list. Left-hander Danny Coulombe was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, while outfielder Gilberto Celestino was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul to open a spot on the active roster.
Sano, 29, got out to the worst start of his career with the Twins earlier this year when he began the season with a calamitous .093/.231/.148 batting line through 17 games and 65 plate appearances. That dismal start came in spite of a modest improvement in his still sky-high strikeout rate (32.3%, down from 34.4% in 2021) and a huge 52.9% hard-hit rate. Sano hit just one home run and did not have a multi-hit game on the season prior to injuring his knee during a walk-off celebration. He eventually underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and missed all of May and June in addition to most of July.
Because he’s in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract and because the Twins have received strong production from prospects Alex Kirilloff and Jose Miranda in his absence, it looked for some time like Sano might not have a roster spot waiting for him when he returned. However, Sano decimated minor league opponents during his rehab assignment, hitting .333/.422/.795 with five home runs and three doubles through just 45 plate appearances. He drew six walks, punched out a dozen times and even swiped a base along the way.
That showing was enough to get Sano another opportunity despite the slow start, and it can’t hurt his cause that the now-optioned Celestino has faded after a blistering start to the season. The 23-year-old Celestino has been operating primarily as a fourth outfielder anyhow, and his last multi-hit effort came back on June 14. In 57 plate appearances since that time, he’s hitting just .148/.193/.222. Celestino still provides speed off the bench and elite defense across the outfield, so he can still provide value even if he’s not hitting. For now, however, it’ll be utilityman Nick Gordon serving as the primary backup to Byron Buxton in center field.
Sano is back in the Twins’ lineup today, but the former cleanup hitter has been dropped all the way to ninth. With Miranda hitting .313/.358/.531 in 137 plate appearances since his last recall from the minors and Kirilloff slashing .301/.339/.456 in 112 plate appearances since his own latest recall, Sano’s grasp on the Twins’ first base gig appears tenuous at present.
Both Kirilloff and Miranda are capable options at first base, and with Buxton, Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick in the outfield, plus Gio Urshela as an option at third base, both Kirilloff and Miranda could be used as regular options in a rotation between their respective positions and the DH spot. Sano’s case is aided by the fact that catcher Ryan Jeffers is out six to eight weeks after fracturing his thumb, pushing Gary Sanchez from frequent DH to starting catcher, but the fact remains that the Twins have options in the event that Sano’s struggles continue. With the guaranteed portion of his contract drawing to a close, it becomes more feasible that they could simply move on if he can’t right the ship.
All that said, the Twins would be hard-pressed to find a bigger lineup upgrade than what a healthy and effective Sano can bring to the table. Sano’s .223/.316/.466 batting line from the 2021 season isn’t exactly dominant, but that includes a similarly disastrous start to the one through which he labored earlier this year. From June 4 onward — coincidentally or not, right around the time MLB sent its infamous memo regarding pitcher usage of Spider Tack and other foreign substances — Sano batted .251/.330/.503 with 21 homers and 21 doubles in a span of 373 plate appearances.
The Twins hold a $14MM club option on Sano for the 2023 season — which comes with a $2.75MM buyout. It’s hard to see that option being picked up as things presently stand, but a huge few months from the slugger could change the equation.
Coulombe’s move to the 60-day injured list is largely a formality. He first hit the injured list with a hip impingement on May 11, returned for a day in late May, and went back on the 15-day IL with a recurrence of that same hip issue the very next day. He’s already been on the 15-day IL for for 60 days anyhow, so this switch doesn’t at all impact his ability to return if he gets back to a point where he’s medically cleared to do so. Coulombe, however, has yet to even begin a minor league rehab assignment. In 49 1/3 innings with the Twins dating back to 2020, Coulombe has a 2.92 ERA and a 45-to-19 K/BB ratio.
Nice use of “calamitous”.
Say it ain’t sano
Hii Steve,
Can you fix the sentence, you put ‘for’ twice? Please & thank you.
“He’s already been on the 15-day IL ‘for for’ 60 days anyhow,”
Hopefully he adds a third “for” to extra annoy you.
Actually, if you’re going to be “that guy” he did it in the most polite courteous manner possible. Including a please and thank you
So maybe not the guy you want to attack about it. Soooooo many other posters to go after
We should try and be kind to everyone on this site!
I mean, that was funny by RobM.
Great natural talent, but it’s very difficult to be a 300 lb baseball player and not get hurt all the time. Running with all that weight affects his knees and legs and the torsion in his swing makes him susceptible to all kinds of pulls and strains. Would never offer this guy anything more than year to year contracts, way too big of a risk!
Did he gain weight back, after being sent to the Fat farm a few years ago?
here’s an interesting comparison for Sano.
Miranda first 53 ABs = OPS of .332
Sano first 54 ABs = OPS of .379
Sano has been doing this for longer than Miranda and is only 29. He should still be in his prime. There’s no reason to think that this was anything other than a small, unlucky sample.
Miranda is a rookie at league minimum and sano is 2 months away from being a released free agent with 7 years of chances
But . . .
(A) The decision on Sano was not whether or not to pay him, it was whether to DFA him. A vocal majority of Twins commenters seem to want to DFA him. They wouldn’t do the same with Miranda and have not turned on Miranda for sucking in the same way they have on Sano.
(B) If Sano hits like Miranda has since May 20th, he’ll be worth that option for next year.
At least he has a somewhat reasonable buyout! Gone!
Wow! Guy can’t stay on the field his whole career and his numbers are terrible. I expect the Twins to dump him in the offseason Eat that $2.75M.
1. Sano played 135 games last year out of 162 possible. 53 of 60 in 2020. He’s been healthy the last two years.
2. His numbers are not terrible. His career OPS+ is 117. That’s not awful. His numbers this year have been terrible but it’s a small sample size with encouraging underlying data.
3. I think it’s unlikely he’s a Twin next year. They have too much depth at the corner infield spots. However, still. a good chance that if Sano rebounds well second half, the Twins pick up his option and then either extend and trade him or trade him to someone who extends him. You should be less definite on this.
Found Sano’s account
To me it’s amazing that someone makes a factual argument instead of spewing their opinion and your comeback is to pretend the only person it could be is the player himself. The arrogance is astounding.
No it has nothing to do with arrogance or this one reply, it’s just that you’re going through this page and replying to every comment finding another way to defend him. That’s a lot of effort. Not sure when twins fans turned into such jerks that you have to resort to insults for a joke
I’m excited he’s back. I’ve watched him get ravaged based on 50ABs for three months. People should think instead of spewing hawt takes. And if they do, they deserve a more aggressive response.
@ZeusMacalester,
Last 2 years and one of them is a third of a season? LOL! Okay…
He’s a defensive liability and that pulls down his WAR.. Take away his first season and he’s essentially a 100 OPS+ hitter, which is league average.
Who knows, though. I just don’t see the value in this guy with plenty of guys sitting around the 90-100 range for OPS+.
This is killing the sacred cow for some but Arraez still really struggles against LHP, putting up a .606 OPS this year. There is absolutely room for Sano to mash lefties while Arraez comes off the bench against them.
You do realize that Arraez has hit lefties better than Sano has over his career correct? Kind of puts a damper on your comment there. Nice try.
Sano’s underlying stats suggest he’s mainly been unlucky, given his previous profile.
– His exit velocity is higher than his career average.
– He strikes out a lot but it’s been 4% less than his career average. He’s also walking 2% above his career average.
– His hard hit rate is down 3.5% over his career rate but is still well above average for a major leaguer.
– There’s been no massive spike in ground balls, he’s actually hitting more fly balls and more line drives than ever. His HR % has plummeted, which may be due to it being colder in April or to him just missing balls.
– He’s also hit the ball up the middle more than usual so he’s not gotten pull happy. Hitting the ball up the middle suggest he was right on pitches.
– With this profile, it makes sense that his BABIP would be unsustainably low (though tons of fly balls does lead to a lower BABIP, albeit, not 180 points lower). He should get more luck there.
Yeah, a .121 batting average on balls in play is unsustainable, but it is a small sample size. If he comes back and goes 2-4 with two singles he raises it by 41 points. If and when the Twins buy out his contract, I think he’s a solid buy-low guy for a rebuilding team. When he’s healthy, he’s an average to above average hitter who can give you 30 home runs. Health has always been the issue for Sano, though.
A lot of stats! How does the issue matter, if someone does not produce and is overpaid?
If he puts up two months of the stats he has before, he won’t be overpaid.
But most likely he’ll be overpaid. That said, it’s not a $14MM decision for the Twins, it’s an $11MM decision. I think the issue is more a lack of room than him not being worth $11MM but perhaps they’ll pick up the option and trade him?
I like your passion! My only advise is not to name call or get defensive Believe me, been their done that. I am almost 68 years old. Enjoy life!!
They should be working to move him for anything at this point. Doesn’t have much of a spot on this roster and unless they want to platoon at 1B, not sure he has much value.
I’m sure the Twins would love to move him, but absoutley nobody would want to take him. He’s a 1B/DH who has health problems every year. It would take attaching a prospect to Sano to get rid of him (which the Twins wouldn’t do because they could just ride out the rest of his contract and buy him out for less than $3 million at the end of the season). If a team is truly interested in Sano, they’ll just wait until the end of the year to sign him, or wait for the Twins to DFA him and claim him/sign him for league minimum.
(1) He doesn’t have health problems every year. He played 135/162 last year and 53/60 the year before. That’s not perennially hurt, especially since the Twins prioritize rest for everyone not named Jorge Polanco.
(2) If the Twins paid his salary and buyout, they can likely move him at the deadline for a prospect. May not be a massive prospect but it’ll be someone. But they should likely wait until offseason. If he hits, they can trade him for something more (offseason there’s more of a market for 1B/DH types) and if not, easy to DFA him.
It’s only a month til roster expansion so you’re keeping Celestino down in the minors for an extra 30 days? Assuming no one is hurt? And Larnach can have a few weeks in AAA to get his stroke back instead of rushing back.
1. Okay, and 2021 was the first time he played more than 120 games in a season. I’ll give him a pass for 2020, but you still have to keep in mind, that was a 60-game season. Since his 2016 season, he’s only played about 63% of all the Twins’ total games. If I’m looking at a 1B/DH type guy, i want a hitter who can consistently give me 75% of games played in a full season.
2. I doubt that anyone would give up a prospect for Sano, even a low-level lottery ticket prospect. He’s a 1B/DH, a market that is consistently overflooded with players like that. We have one week until the trade deadline, and nobody is going to give up anything for one week of production. If you’re the Twins, you’re not picking up $14 million option for a player who is worth less than half of that. Nobody is going to want to trade for him, and no team is going to give you a decent prospect unless he both performs extremely well in August and September (like 2017/2019 Sano good) and you include cash in that deal (like to the point where the other team is taking on no more than $5-8 mil).
No one is going to pick up the option unless he goes on a heater. But if he goes on a heater, he’ll have value at 1 year $14MM.
Unless Miguel Sano turns in a Barry Bonds-like August/Setpember, no way is his option being picked up,
Just Sano to spider tack
Fail
Off the bench pinch hitter where a solo homerun with 2 outs is what we need. Any other situation and he rides the pine. He has proved NOTHING this season and should be cut. Let boston roid him up and get big papi 2.0.