For most of their professional careers when Twins fans have talked about either Byron Buxton or Miguel Sano the other wasn’t far behind.
The two have been regarded as the team’s top prospects for years, so with Buxton already with the Twins, naturally fans are starting to wonder when Sano will be headed to Minnesota.
Without offering a specific timetable, Twins manager Paul Molitor did his best to answer the question Tuesday when he talked to reporters before the Twins game in St. Louis.
“Every day that goes by, he’s closer to getting here,” Molitor told reporters. “That’s kind of a general answer, but whether it’s in a couple weeks or September, we’ve been looking for him to get consistency.”
Sano, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery during spring training, got out to a slow start. He was hitting just .163 May 6, but has really turned it around since. During that stretch Sano has hit .320 with seven home runs in 33 games raising his batting average to .257, to go with 12 home runs on the year.
According to the Star Tribune, Twins general manager Terry Ryan was so impressed with Sano’s progress that it’s opened up the possibility of an earlier-than-expected promotion.
“We’ve been looking for him to get consistency,” Molitor said. “We talk to the people down there about his at-bats, what he’s doing well, what he’s not doing so well and what will get exposed up here and what won’t.”
His power is something the Twins could definitely use – the team is currently 26th in the majors in home runs with 48.
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The biggest question with Sano is, where will he play? He has committed 13 errors at third base this year and the Twins already have Trevor Plouffe at third base, so it’s possible the 22-year-old will have to find a new spot.
Puckett’s Pond took a look at some of the team’s options with the 22-year-old.
- Designated hitter – The Twins have been in search of a productive designated hitter for awhile and Sano’s power would make him an ideal candidate to fill that void.
- Third Base – That would make the Twins likely to move Plouffe to the outfield or even make the veteran a candidate to be traded
- Left Field – While the idea has been discussed, would it be wise for Sano to make his big league debut at a position he hasn’t played?
According to the Pioneer Press, there’s been no recent conversations about a position change for Sano, but that doesn’t mean a move to left field couldn’t happen.
“He moves better than people think he does once he gets going,” Molitor said. “It’s a big body to get moving; we all know that. I think he’s athletic enough to where that wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.”
