If Miguel Sano is attempting to make an MLB comeback, it’s not going very well for the former Minnesota Twins third baseman.
Sano, who was top-10 prospect when he was 20 years old, is currently playing for the Estrellas Orientales in the Dominican Winter League. In 24 games, the 30-year-old is slashing .190/.316/.354 with two home runs, seven doubles and eight RBI.
Strikeouts also continue to mount for Sano, whose 29 whiffs in 95 plate appearances equates to a 30.5% strikeout rate. That’s only slightly lower than his strikeout rates during his last three full seasons with the Twins (2019-2021), when he went down swinging or looking 432 times in 1,176 plate appearances (36.7%).
Why are we even writing about Sano? It’s thanks to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Twins blogger Parker Hageman that says Sano is “launching sloppy taters” in the Dominican Winter League.
Per Hageman, Sano has told reporters in the Dominican Republic that he’s lost 30 pounds and has been working out with San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis.
miguel sano is launching sloppy taters in the @LIDOMRD
he’s told reporters that he’s been working with fernando tatis sr on his hitting and has cut 30 pounds pic.twitter.com/yvjzA9bKdc
— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) December 20, 2023
Sano reportedly held workouts before the 2023 season but went unsigned. Any team that gives him another shot could probably ink him to a minor-league deal and see what happens. He hit 34 homers in 2019 and 30 more in 2021, so if he’s making contact there’s a pretty decent chance he’ll hit the ball over the wall.
By the way, Estrellas Orientales has quite the roster in the D.R. In addition to Sano and Tatis, former MLB stars Robinson Cano and Yasiel Puig are on the team.
