Miguel Sano is getting close to returning to the Twins lineup.
Minnesota is tentatively planning to have Sano return to the field on Friday night at Class AAA Rochester to begin a rehab stint intended to help him return from a hamstring injury.
However, Twins manager Paul Molitor told reporters Tuesday how long Sano will remain in Rochester and what position he’ll play remains undecided.
Barring a setback, Miguel Sano will make his Rochester debut on Friday, Molitor said. Length of stay at AAA — and position — still TBD.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) June 21, 2016
“That’s a fair question. In all honesty, we’ve been having discussions about how we want to integrate him back into games on rehab, as well as up here,” Molitor told reporters including the Star Tribune’s Phil Miller. “It’s not finalized yet.”
The decision is made trickier by Sano’s hamstring injury and by the emergence of Max Kepler, who has improved as his playing time has increased. Since he moved into the starting lineup Kepler is hitting .316 with two home runs and five doubles.
According to 1500 ESPN’s Derek Wetmore, the decision shouldn’t be a tough one. Wetmore argues the experiment of putting Sano in the outfield has been a failure.
What's left to think about? Admit a mistake, move Miguel Sano out of right field and move on. Here's a column: https://t.co/xttYaJ45hU
— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) June 21, 2016
In a Tuesday column, Wetmore outlined three different scenarios for Sano once he returns to the lineup – none of them include Sano returning to the outfield.
While the Twins say they don’t have a plan in place yet, Molitor said he’d like to have one ready by the time Sano takes the field in Rochester on Friday.
