Article: Miguel Sano Optioned to Ft. Myers

[Han Joelo]

 

Was thinking this the past couple days too.... Acuna, Albies, Soto.  Probably Vlad Jr. too if he didn't get hurt.  Impact players immediately.   Then we have Buxton and Sano trying to find their way four years into it.

I get and agree with your point, but the three guys you mention could be getting their own resets three years from now.  Sano was an All-Star just one year ago.  Even though it seems like it, its not just Twins' prospects that flameout.  The Rangers aren't so different from the Twins with Profar.

Edited June 14, 2018 by Han Joelo

[ashbury]

Contention for the post-season was already becoming a faint hope. Contention is not possible without the key members of the core starting to contribute. Sano is off the table for that, now. Therefore, we're in Sell mode whenever the contenders come to the market - not quite yet but sometime in the next several weeks. Strap in, it's going to be a bumpy ride from here on.

[twins_89]

I'm not surprised that Sano was optioned, the only real interesting thing was that it was to Fort Myers.

 

If Sano gets moved to Rochester in the fairly near future the AAA team could have a lineup that includes Polanco, Gordon, Sano, Rooker (looks close to a promotion), Buxton, and Wade. That's basically half of the position players I'd hoped would make up the 2019 roster.

[yarnivek1972]

If they trade Dozier, they'd have an open spot on the 40 man for Gordon or Petit.

Petit’s time in roster purgatory isn’t even finished yet. He figures to clear waivers, but if I am correct they would still have to outright him at that time and would still have to wait another 10 days before purchasing his contract. And, they would have wasted his “outright” eligible status.

 

 

Poor roster management.

[John Kelsey]

 

True, but we don't remember the big names that don't make it unless they are ours.

 

Yep, JP Crawford, Lucas Giolito, Tyler Glasnow, Amed Rosario, Lewis Brinson,  the list goes on. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Roy Halladay is a guy who pitched in the big leagues, but when he struggled and lost his mechanics, he was optioned to A-ball. He worked on those things with a clear mind, and he came back better.

 

In Halladay's case, he had a disastrous 2000 season in MLB and AAA, and he was optioned to A ball to begin the 2001 season, and worked his way back. But it wasn't a midseason demotion.

[Mike Sixel]

True, but we don't remember the big names that don't make it unless they are ours.

Sure we do, and that missed the point entirely. This team has failed to develop star players, even those in the top ten in protect lists. It signs old veterans, rather than promote relief pitchers, it's not good enough at the main job of a team. Every other team is getting younger, this team is not.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I kind of hope Buxton gets optioned when he comes back as well. That's another bat that needs to get back on track.

 

I'm fine with this move. He cannot strike out as much as he is and expect to be a decent major leaguer. We need better than a Rob Deer comp.

[nater79a]

 

I get and agree with your point, but the three guys you mention could be getting their own resets three years from now.  Sano was an All-Star just one year ago.  Even though it seems like it, its not just Twins' prospects that flameout.  The Rangers aren't so different from the Twins with Profar.

 

Yep, and even Joey Gallo to some degree. Home run or bust.

 

Could add Yoan Moncada of the White Sox. Was the #1 prospect in baseball.

[Vanimal46]

Contention for the post-season was already becoming a faint hope. Contention is not possible without the key members of the core starting to contribute. Sano is off the table for that, now. Therefore, we're in Sell mode whenever the contenders come to the market - not quite yet but sometime in the next several weeks. Strap in, it's going to be a bumpy ride from here on.

Oh boy. They can get in line behind BAL, TOR, TEX, CWS, DET, KC, NYM, MIA, PIT, CIN, OAK, and name anyone in the NL West who decides to give up too.

[whatyouknowtwinsfan]

There are only so many guys you can replace. Unfortunately, we need to replace 7 guys right now. This is the move that needed to be made, however. I'm glad to see they're addressing Sano's problems because if this team wants to win anything, they need Sano to be a functioning part of a lineup.

 

I will say this to people who say the Twins can't develop players to check again (not seeing it here, but I am seeing it a lot on Twitter and Facebook). Eddie Rosario, Jose Berrios, Fernando Romero (so far), Kyle Gibson (late bloomer), and Brian Dozier (not this year) have been successfully developed recently. There have been some failures, but I think Sano's problems are more a product of his approach versus the Twins approach to developing him. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Maybe this should have been done before Petit was DFA. Now the Twins have no reserve infielder until Polanco is eligible, which is still almost a month away.

 

Poor roster management.

 

Even if the Twins got an offer for Dozier, they would have to pass because they lack an infielder (they are willing) to call up.

Petit already cleared and was outrighted to AAA, per today's radio broadcast.

[jorgenswest]

Does he need the 10 days or is it different with an outright? He would need that 40 man spot. I guess if they don’t select Motter, Petit can take his 40 man spot.

[Danchat]

 

Petit already cleared and was outrighted to AAA, per today's radio broadcast.

Plus they claimed Taylor Motter a little while back, so I imagine they'll call him up to be the utility infielder. I don't think we lost much by DFA'ing Petit.

[jorgenswest]

If Motter isn’t called up now I don’t know when he would ever get the call. If they go with someone else that needs a 40 man spot it ought to be his spot.

[ashbury]

Oh boy. They can get in line behind BAL, TOR, TEX, CWS, DET, KC, NYM, MIA, PIT, CIN, OAK, and name anyone in the NL West who decides to give up too.

 

"Looks like I picked the wrong year to give up on pennant contention."

[yarnivek1972]

I didn’t even notice Motter on the 40 man until I just looked.

 

I would assume he and Mauer take the two open roster spots.

[Mike Sixel]

There are only so many guys you can replace. Unfortunately, we need to replace 7 guys right now. This is the move that needed to be made, however. I'm glad to see they're addressing Sano's problems because if this team wants to win anything, they need Sano to be a functioning part of a lineup.

 

I will say this to people who say the Twins can't develop players to check again (not seeing it here, but I am seeing it a lot on Twitter and Facebook). Eddie Rosario, Jose Berrios, Fernando Romero (so far), Kyle Gibson (late bloomer), and Brian Dozier (not this year) have been successfully developed recently. There have been some failures, but I think Sano's problems are more a product of his approach versus the Twins approach to developing him.

That seems like a tiny number over a decade.... If we are going back to Dozier and Gibson. This team doesn't have enough good players. Is that in dispute?

[ewen21]

 

I marvel at this organization. Yangervis Solarte, Aaron Hicks, and Niko Goodrum are all playing well and yet this team is playing LeMarre, Wilson, Grossman, Morrison, and Adrianza. 

Something is wrong, and I am not going to simply blame Byron Buxon and Miguel Sano about this.

Let's not get carried away about any Solarte, Hicks or Goodrum.  If we are bemoaning the loss of them then we really need to step back and look at what we have.  Buxton and Sano aren't getting all the blame, but the sure as heck need to be doing a lot better.  Both are totally clueless this year and they have been given so much rope.  Are they supposed to not be held accountable for their poor play?

 

If you think the Twins are bad at developing players I agree with you.  That, however, doesn't excuse Buxton or Sano for dreadful performances.  There are plenty of players younger than them outperforming them by a wide margin.  I am tired of hearing "give them time"

These are supposed to be blue chippers.  They should be performing at a much higher level and Sano really needs to take ownership of the fact he had an awful winter preparing for baseball.  That is on him.  Let's just face facts.  

[h2oface]

Try to trade Sano now! Talk about a total devaluation of a very high value asset since Falvine took the reigns. Their fault? Not necessarily, but happening under their watch. This all is. And it is not going very well, as a whole, eh? This was the year that it all was to fall into place.........

Edited June 14, 2018 by h2oface

[adorduan]

Buxton, take note...

[Brandon Brooks]

 

Buxton, take note...

 

Buxton's even been less valuable than Sano this year... -3 wRC+ and -0.3 fWAR, compared to Sano's 80 wRC+ and -0.2 fWAR in only nine more games. Not saying I want to see a roster without either of them, because that speaks volumes about this season, but they have both absolutely plummeted since last year.

 

(Also goes to show the value of Buxton in the field...he has a negative wRC+ but he's still hovering right around replacement level.)

[ewen21]

NO ONE wanted this to happen.  It would have been hard to stomach this if someone told me this would happen last October.  This shows that a player can take two steps back over the winter if they aren't careful.  Being a professional athlete requires a lot of attention all year round.  TO refuse to accept ANY correlation between the drop in production to the changes in his body over the last several years would be to shut down a possible solution.  Some people get angry about "questioning his work ethic" and such.  Who cares?  To spiral downward the way he has invites all kinds of questioning and it entirely reasonable to site conditioning as one of the causes.  Not THE cause, but a cause.

 

To say it has NOTHING to do with it is a far bigger assumption to make

[DocBauer]

I applaud this move for many reasons. This is not a punishment, nor should it be viewed that way. This is a mental and physical time out to work on his eye, approach, and just get back to being the talented and dangerous hitter he can be.

 

What I am NOT a fan of is sending down Cave. He's got much more potential than LaMarre and doesn't look the least out of place. Unless this about a RH vs LH bat, I'd of kept Cave.

[Thrylos]

Here is my take:

 

Sano's issues with hitting are two-fold:  timing and mechanical.  Pretty sure that he changed his mechanics to lessen the involvement of his injured leg (even subconsciously) and that has an impact on his timing.

 

So getting some place to work on getting that back without unfairly being singled out and under the microscope, is a good thing for him. 

 

Why Fort Myers?  Free place to stay, plus a whole bunch of newly arrived former DSLers ready to play in the GCL, so he can help them with the culture adjustment and have some buddies.  And again it is not whether he can hit quality pitches, it is getting his mechanics and timing back, and he can do that at any level.

 

Now, I'd love to see the Twins do the same thing with Buxton when he comes back...

Edited June 14, 2018 by Thrylos

[whatyouknowtwinsfan]

 

That seems like a tiny number over a decade.... If we are going back to Dozier and Gibson. This team doesn't have enough good players. Is that in dispute?

 

I think it's more me not being able to readily think of names more than anything else. If you look at the team, how many players have been drafted and developed by the Twins? 

 

Rotation

Berrios-Drafted

Gibson-Drafted

Romero-International FA

Lynn-FA

Odorizzi-Trade

 

Bullpen

Belisle-FA

Pressly-Rule 5

Magill-Minor League FA

Reed-FA

Hildenberger-Drafted

Duke-FA

Rogers-Drafted

Rodney-FA

 

Offense

Sano-International FA

Garver-Drafted

Wilson-Minor League FA

Adrianza-Waivers

Escobar-Trade

Dozier-Drafted

Morrison-FA

Grossman-FA

Kepler-International FA

LaMarre-Minor League FA

Rosario-Drafted

Cave-Traded

 

 

Drafted-7

International FA-3

Traded-3

Minor/MLB FA-12

 

They haven't developed a lot because most of their roster isn't players developed in the system. I don't know what successful development looks like, but it seems like of the guys they've developed, they've had modest success. I think it's a fair concern, but  there is still plenty of time to see if some of these guys develop. Your patience might/should be wearing thin though on some of these guys. 

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

I think it's more me not being able to readily think of names more than anything else. If you look at the team, how many players have been drafted and developed by the Twins?

 

Rotation

Berrios-Drafted

Gibson-Drafted

Romero-International FA

Lynn-FA

Odorizzi-Trade

 

Bullpen

Belisle-FA

Pressly-Rule 5

Magill-Minor League FA

Reed-FA

Hildenberger-Drafted

Duke-FA

Rogers-Drafted

Rodney-FA

 

Offense

Sano-International FA

Garver-Drafted

Wilson-Minor League FA

Adrianza-Waivers

Escobar-Trade

Dozier-Drafted

Morrison-FA

Grossman-FA

Kepler-International FA

LaMarre-Minor League FA

Rosario-Drafted

Cave-Traded

 

 

Drafted-7

International FA-3

Traded-3

Minor/MLB FA-12

 

They haven't developed a lot because most of their roster isn't players developed in the system. I don't know what successful development looks like, but it seems like of the guys they've developed, they've had modest success. I think it's a fair concern, but there is still plenty of time to see if some of these guys develop. Your patience might/should be wearing thin though on some of these guys.

Great post, fairly stated.

[David HK]

Good. About time for a move like this. Ft Meyers, tho? I was surprised by that.

 

Now, when is MoY going to be optioned, like back to roving baserunning instructor or something?

 

Ozzie can still save this team.

[S.]

 

That seems like a tiny number over a decade.... If we are going back to Dozier and Gibson. This team doesn't have enough good players. Is that in dispute?

It's also hard to include a pitcher with 41 IP and I'm hesitant to call Gibson a late bloomer until we see if he can maintain this sort of performance over a couple seasons and not just 75 IP. Let's not forget he had an ERA over 5 and a WHIP over 1.5 the previous two seasons. And while I definitely think he's turned a corner, he wouldn't be the first pitcher to have a good season and then regress back to his average. And that's not to say Gibson hasn't had other stretches where he looked good too, but he's going to need to maintain his success a bit longer before I'd start considering him a real success story (and i'm certainly rooting for him and Romero and Berrios to all continue improving and having success).

[Vanimal46]

Interesting note I read... Miguel Sano has 77 days remaining before he surpasses 3 years of service time... He could be a minimum salary player again next season depending on how long the demotion lasts.

 

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/06/twins-option-miguel-sano.html