March 6, 2019

It’s time for the Twins to trade Miguel Sano

I, like so many other Twins fans, want to believe that Twins third baseman, Miguel Sano, can not only become a star, but a superstar, someone who will smash home runs for the Twins for years to come.

But after the Twins announced Tuesday that Sano will miss the first month of the season because of a nagging leg injury — yet another injury for a player who has played four injury-filled seasons for the Twins —  I can’t deny that I reacted to the news by saying the following: trade him.

It’s now clear to me that although Sano possesses all the potential in the world, he’s also prone to injury and if that holds true over the remainder of his career, then the Twins need to trade the 25-year-old while there’s still some value left. Perhaps a deal for Sano could bring that top-notch starter the Twins need to solidify the rotation.

And then there’s the fear that if the Twins trade Sano, he will become an automatic star elsewhere. That seems less and less likely to me. Sano has never come close to playing a full season of baseball, and once he returns from this injury, or future injuries, he, like any oft-injured player, will have to slowly get back into the swing of things. And when does that happen? June? July? August? By then, Sano will hardly be a factor in the season.

Do I want to wait around for Sano to deliver on the promise of his potential? Not anymore.

Extra innings…

-According to MLB.com, Sano injured the Achilles area of his right leg during the offseason in the Dominican Republic. A teammate slipped and pushed into Sano, who then scraped his leg against metal stairs. The laceration was slow to heal, so Sano underwent a wound procedure at the Mayo Clinic.

According to MLB.com:

 He (Sano) will be examined again on Friday, and once he travels back to Florida, he’s expected to require a week in a hard splint and will likely be in a protective boot until April.

The Twins now feel good about the cleanliness of the wound and are confident that it will heal properly.

-Meanwhile, baseball was played on Tuesday. Eddie Rosario hit a grand slam and the Twins rolled to a 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Twins pitching looked good: seven pitchers struck out 15 batters, including four from starter Jake Odorizzi, two from Michael Pineda and Adalberto Mejia struck out the side.

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.