The Minnesota Twins reinstated Miguel Sanó from the 60-day injured list on Monday night, bringing one of their most potent bats back to the roster.
Sanó suffered a torn meniscus in his knee during an Apr. 26 victory over the Detroit Tigers but played on the injury a few days later. After being removed from an Apr. 30 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, further testing revealed the extent of the damage and Sanó went under the knife in May.
At that point, Sanó was hitting just. .093/.231/.148 with one home run and 21 strikeouts in 65 at-bats but he looked like a different player during his rehab assignment. Sanó was especially locked in during a stint with the St. Paul Saints, hitting .348/.423/.826 with three homers in seven games.
To make room for Sanó, the Twins have optioned outfielder Gilberto Celestino to St. Paul. Celestino was hitting .268/.329/.327 with eight RBI this season but is batting .174/.230/.246 over his past 32 games. With Nick Gordon out of options, Celestino was the odd man out.
Sanó’s playing time isn’t guaranteed, however, as the Twins have a log jam at first base. Luis Arráez has been the main beneficiary of Sanó’s absence, leading the American League in batting average (.341) and on-base percentage (.413) on his way to his first All-Star appearance. The Twins have also used Alex Kirilloff and Jose Miranda at the position as part of a platoon.
It’s unknown how the Twins will use Sanó moving forward, but he’ll rejoin the team when they open a two-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.
