Did you have a crummy Thursday? Join the club! Whatever mayhem you encountered—rush-hour traffic, a poorly-timed (and piping hot) coffee spill, having your lunch disappear from the break room—I’m sure Miguel Sano can top it.
Thursday morning Sano woke up as the Twins’ starting third baseman. Today he’s the starting third baseman for the Fort Myers Miracle. Excuse me, I meant to say the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle. That’s right, folks—Miguel Sano, one of the Twins’ three All-Star representatives last season—now plays at a lower minor league level than Tim Tebow.
We knew the Twins would have to send someone down with Joe Mauer (concussion) coming off the disabled list, but who in their right mind would guess that Sano, he of 28 homers last year, would be the odd man out? Sano has hit just .203 with seven homers in 148 at-bats this season. Those are ugly numbers to be sure, but are those stats really bad enough to warrant a demotion of this magnitude? Sano hasn’t played in the Florida State League since 2013. Back then, he was 20.
We’ve seen big names get sent down before—Kyle Schwarber and Yasiel Puig have both been demoted in recent years. But there’s not much precedent for a player dropping three levels at once. Roy Halladay began 2001 in High-A after pitching in the big leagues a year earlier. The difference, however, is that Halladay wasn’t an established star yet. Last year Sano homered at a higher rate (once every 15.1 at-bats) than Paul Goldschmidt (15.5), Nolan Arenado (16.4) and Anthony Rizzo (17.9), just to name a few.
So what happened? How did Sano fall so far, so fast? The simple answer—strikeouts. Sano has always been dogged by a low contact rate, but this year he’s taken it to another level. The Dominican Republic native has struck out in over 40 percent of his plate appearances (up from 35.8 percent in 2017) with an embarrassing 64.7 percent contact rate. Only notorious free-swinger Joey Gallo has whiffed more frequently (62.6 percent contact rate) this season. Sano has had an especially rough June, punching out 18 times in only 37 at-bats. Overall, he’s gone just 13-for-68 (.191 AVG) since coming back from a hamstring injury late last month.
Manager Paul Molitor worked day and night to get Sano going, even moving him down in the order to take some of the pressure off. But with Eduardo Escobar (.564 slugging percentage, league-leading 26 doubles) having a breakout year at third base, the Twins did what smart teams tend to do—they rewarded the better player.
But don’t think Minnesota has given up on Sano. Whether the problem is a mechanical flaw or a mental block, the Twins are going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another. “We're not going to follow the traditional view—just go get at-bats at Triple-A," said executive VP Derek Falvey. “We wanted to take a step back and blank-canvas this a bit and say, ‘What do we think the best next steps are for him?’” At the team’s spring training facility in Fort Myers, Sano will be surrounded by coaches who can roll up their sleeves and find the root of his struggles. The relatively low-stakes atmosphere in the Florida State League should also be a boon for his confidence, which has surely eroded over the past few weeks.
While sending down an All-Star is never ideal, Sano could certainly benefit from a change of scenery. I’m sure the Mets would love to give a struggling player like Jay Bruce a week or two to clear his head in Florida, but given his veteran status (translation: no minor league options) and the team’s lack of depth, the best New York can do is invent an injury to make him go away for a while (they seem to be doing exactly that). David Ortiz had nowhere to hide when he was circling the drain a few years ago. But Sano has that luxury. With Escobar manning third base, there’s no rush for him to get back to Minnesota. It’s not like the Twins are in a pennant race either. A month in Florida, or however long it takes for him to break through, will be a small price to pay if it helps Sano get back to where he was in 2017.
Of course, now that Sano is starting from scratch, the Twins are in a precarious position. When they began their rebuild a few years back, Sano and Byron Buxton were touted as the key ingredients, the saviors expected to lead Minnesota out of the dark ages and into a brand new era of Twins baseball. But with Sano on hiatus and Buxton still a major work in progress (he’s hit just .156 when healthy this year), it’s entirely possible that two of Minnesota’s franchise cornerstones may never pan out. At least they guessed right on Jose Berrios.
You have to hand it to him—despite Thursday’s ego bruise, Sano is taking his demotion in stride. “I’m not mad," said Sano. "I'm happy, because I know I'm struggling and [Molitor] gave me an opportunity. There's no reason I can get mad." Call him the anti-Matt Harvey.
AL Quick Hits: Justin Verlander didn’t have his best stuff on Thursday—he let up three runs in seven innings—but it was more than enough to beat the A’s as the surging Astros claimed their eighth straight victory. Verlander leads the AL in ERA (1.61) and is second in wins behind reigning Cy Young winner Corey Kluber … Matt Chapman was diagnosed with a right-hand contusion on Thursday and will head for an MRI. The 25-year-old claims the injury has bothered him since spring training, though he has yet to miss a game this season … Trevor Cahill is headed to the disabled list with a strained right Achilles. It’s the right-hander’s second DL stint after missing time with an elbow impingement last month … Jordan Zimmermann is slated to return Saturday against the White Sox. A shoulder impingement has sidelined the right-hander since early May … Joe Mauer will return from the disabled list on Friday after missing almost a month with a concussion. He looked rusty on his minor league rehab assignment, going 0-for-10 during a three-game stint with Triple-A Rochester … The Indians designated Melky Cabrera for assignment on Thursday. The former All-Star Game MVP has hit just .207 over 58 at-bats for the Tribe this year .. Gleyber Torres socked his 13th homer Thursday in a win over Tampa Bay. The 21-year-old has slashed a phenomenal .295/.351/.577 since his call-up in late April.
NL Quick Hits: Evan Longoria fractured the fifth metacarpal bone on his left hand after being hit by a pitch Thursday against the Marlins. It’s the same injury that sidelined teammate Madison Bumgarner for more than two months earlier this year. Pablo Sandoval, who delivered the go-ahead hit in Thursday’s 16-inning victory, is a candidate to fill in at third base during Longoria’s absence … Julio Teheran will return to the Braves’ rotation Sunday against San Diego. The right-hander has been out the past two weeks with a right thumb contusion … Ronald Acuna hit on the field prior to Thursday’s series opener against the Padres. The 20-year-old is expected to run the bases this weekend, though beat reporter Mark Bowman of MLB.com believes it will be another week until he’s activated from the disabled list. A sprained ACL has kept Acuna out since late May … Mets 1B prospect Peter Alonso was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday. The 23-year-old has had a monster year in the minors, batting .314 with 15 homers, 52 RBI and 42 runs scored over 65 games for Double-A Binghamton. He’s New York’s No. 4 prospect, according to MLB.com … Thursday was a day Ryan McMahon will never forget. That’s because the 23-year-old slugged his first career homer in a loss to Philadelphia. It came in the eighth inning off Hector Neris … Jay Bruce sat out Thursday’s series opener in Arizona with a sore back and is expected to miss Friday’s game as well. The slumping outfielder has logged just two hits in his last 20 at-bats … According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, unless the Pirates quickly make up ground in the NL Central—they’re currently eight games back of the first-place Brewers—they’ll likely be sellers at next month’s trade deadline. Morosi mentioned Francisco Cervelli, Corey Dickerson, David Freese, Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Ivan Nova and Sean Rodriguez as players the Bucs could look to move before July 31.
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