After seven years with the Minnesota Twins, Eddie Rosario is starting the next chapter of his career after signing a one-year deal with the Cleveland Indians.
Although Rosario is set to join the middle of the Cleveland lineup, he still had some words about the Twins’ thought process in non-tendering him.
Speaking to former MLB players Arnold Santiago and Carlos Baerga on the “Me Gustan Los Deportes” podcast, Rosario compared his exit velocity to a replaceable player but didn’t mention any names.
“If the ball exits at 110 [miles per hour] when you hit it and at 90 mph when someone else hits it, but the 110 mph hitter is prone to strikeouts, and the 90 mph hitter always makes contact, who has a greater chance at hitting a homer?” Rosario reasoned, according to a translation. “Just thinking.”
Sanó replies “Do your homework so you don’t look ridiculous. Yes I hit the ball 110 mph and strike out a bunch, but compare my PAs with your PAs and compare my homers with yours, and then even all of my strikeouts are a small issue. Yeah, you thought wrong.” pic.twitter.com/Hbw3zgWNMt
— Stan (@Crewsett) February 2, 2021
While Rosario didn’t mention any names, Sano took to his Instagram story to call out Rosario’s comments.
“Do your homework so you don’t look ridiculous,” Sano said, via the same translation that has gone viral on Twitter. “Yes I hit the ball 110 mph and strike out a bunch, but compare my [plate appearances] with your [plate appearances] and compare my homers with yours, and then even all of my strikeouts are a small issue. Yeah, you thought wrong.”
In true social media fashion, Rosario responded on his Instagram account.
“What a lack of professionalism,” Rosario said, via the translation. “I considered you my brother. What I said wasn’t directed at you or anyone else. But it’s good that you applied it to yourself. They called me an RBI bus and you’re a strikeout bus. You should be embarrassed. I weigh 185 soaking wet and I do the same job as you and then some. Yours truly, your dad. YOU HEARD? YOUR DAD.”
The situation is interesting considering Sano ranked second behind San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. (95.9 mph) with an average 95.2 mph exit velocity last season, per Statcast. With it came an MLB high 90 strikeouts, but 13 home runs in 186 at-bats.
Meanwhile, Rosario’s exit velocity checked in at 87.5 mph, but he only struck out in 14.7 percent of his at-bats last season while hitting .257 with 13 HR and 42 RBI in 231 at-bats.
This would seem to validate Rosario’s logic, but it was Sano who was rewarded with a three-year, $30 million contract last season while Rosario was sent to free agency by being non-tendered last December.
For what it’s worth, the feud seems to be over as Rosario apologized to Sano on his Instagram story.
“It was only a misunderstanding,” Rosario wrote, according to a translation. “Miguel Sano, we are not us and even less for letting ourselves be carried away by another as a man. Sorry, success this year.”
“Brother, you know we are brothers since 16 together,” Sano said in his response on his Instagram account.
The two former teammates are slated to settle their differences on the field when the Twins visit Cleveland for a three-game series starting Apr. 26.
