La Velle: Sano Lost 5 Pounds This Offseason

[jimmer]

 

Granted, not everyone who is ok with Sano in the outfield is saying it because they don't believe he can play 3B. There seems to be a wide range of opinion on how well he can play 3B however, all the way down to he doesn't have a chance to ever be good there.

He will soon end up at DH.  It's where he should be.

[TheLeviathan]

I would like to have spent this season with Sano at DH most of the time and getting a day or two at third every week to break him in and feel out his defensive ability.

 

If he ever ends up back at third, we'll have wasted a golden opportunity to ease him into the position here in 2016.

 

(I still hope this could be a reality, but that means rooting against Park, which I'm not terribly comfortable with either.)

[TNLooky2015]

Sano's only problem will be his ability to run throughout a season.  The heavier he is, the less likely it will be for him to truly stride out in the outfield.  Thus hamstrings, quads, hip flexors..  Flexibility will determine his future regardless to position if he hopes to stay in the field.  That's what I'll be looking for in spring training.  How much and how seriously does he stretch when on the field.

[Bob Sacamento]

Pictures from Sano in the outfield taking flyballs.  Early reports are quite comical, bad routes, getting turned around, balls dropping in front but it seems like Sano is having fun with it.  So there is at least that...

 

 

courtesy of Bill Parameter

[Seth Stohs]

 

We're only 3 weeks away from this little adventure getting underway. What is your confidence level in Sano's ability to adapt and succeed in right field?

 

Really high. He won't have a ton of range (though probably more than most people think), but he'll make the routine plays. Seeing him at Twins Fest, he's strong, and there isn't a lot of body fat. The adjustment has nothing to do with his weight. It has everything to do with knowing where to throw, not trying to do too much, etc. 

[Winston Smith]

There is no way anything bad can come from this looking at these pictures.

[Bob Sacamento]

 

There is no way anything bad can come from this looking at these pictures.

LOL, I know, I told the photographer he made him look really good because it wasn't a pretty sight, of course it was one of his first days official in the outfield.  Makes Arcia look like Mike Trout out there.  Still giving him a month to basically learn the position, Miggy should be "fine", I mean the Cubs use Hulk Schwarber (6' 240lb) in LF but even they gave him 30 games in the minors and regular reps out there before calling him up.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Really high. He won't have a ton of range (though probably more than most people think), but he'll make the routine plays. Seeing him at Twins Fest, he's strong, and there isn't a lot of body fat. The adjustment has nothing to do with his weight. It has everything to do with knowing where to throw, not trying to do too much, etc.

Is "limited range but making the routine plays" the right threshold here for success, though? And how can anyone really forecast that, at this point? I am sure many once thought Delmon Young would be just fine in the outfield too, but it turns out he would have been far better at DH if his offense could have sustained it.

[tobi0040]

We have really put him in a difficult position.

[spinowner]

He needs to get an outfielder's glove on his left hand. I know he's a big man but that's an infielder-sized glove.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Is "limited range but making the routine plays" the right threshold here for success, though? And how can anyone really forecast that, at this point? I am sure many once thought Delmon Young would be just fine in the outfield too, but it turns out he would have been far better at DH if his offense could have sustained it.

 

Michael Cuddyer had limited range (and Sano is probably faster) and made the routine plays and had a strong arm (Sano's is stronger)... Obviously we'll find out, but if he can be similar to that, he's a 4+ WAR player.

[Monkeypaws]

Not concerned a bit - 22-23 year olds are very athletic, flexible, strong, (add attribute here). 

 

Sano is built like a football linebacker, and they run into stuff all the time and are no worse for wear. 

 

He profiles as an elite RF to me, with his arm and athleticism.

[Platoon]

He needs to get an outfielder's glove on his left hand. I know he's a big man but that's an infielder-sized glove.

He probably thinks they're still going to trade Plouffe?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Michael Cuddyer had limited range (and Sano is probably faster) and made the routine plays and had a strong arm (Sano's is stronger)... Obviously we'll find out, but if he can be similar to that, he's a 4+ WAR player.

Interesting you bring up Cuddyer and WAR, as Cuddy was rather notorious for poor defensive metrics dragging down his WAR. He routinely lost a win or more per season, and only peaked at 3.1 WAR overall.

 

I mean, Sano is a better hitter than that, so 4 WAR after that defensive penalty is certainly possible assuming he can stay healthy, but it seems very unlikely that such an arrangement will be optimal for either the player or the team. Like Cuddyer, the negative defense easily has the potential to outweigh the -0.5 WAR positional penalty from moving from RF to DH.