Miguel Sanó

[William Malone]

Miguel Angel Jean Sanó was born on May 11, 1993 in the Dominican Republic.

He was one of the most sought after international free agents of all time, signing with the Minnesota Twins for $3.15 million in 2009. Other clubs interested in signing Sanó included the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the second largest signing bonus ever given to a Dominican amateur, only falling short of the $4.25 million signing bonus that Michael Yona received from the Oakland Athletics in 2008.

Sanó quickly established himself as one of the best prospects in baseball. He hit 28 home runs with 100 RBI while playing at the Class-A level in 2012. This was followed up with 35 home runs with 103 RBI between High-A and Double-A in 2013. Sanó missed the entire 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but began hitting at a high level again upon returning in 2015.

Minnesota called Sanó up to the big leagues to make his debut on July 2, 2015. He hit 18 home runs with a .916 OPS in 80 big league games that summer, finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. The Twins moved Sanó to right field ahead of the 2016 off-season, but it was a short-lived experiment and he was back at third base by June. Offensively, he hit 25 home runs with a .781 OPS in 2016.

His talent was on full display for the whole nation during All-Star week in 2017. Sanó was the runner-up to Aaron Judge at the Home Run Derby, and his RBI single off Alex Wood helped the American League escape with a 2-1 win in the Midsummer Classic. Injuries limited Sanó in the second half that season, and he was left off the Twins playoff roster due to a shin injury.

Things got off to a disastrous start for Sanó in 2018, and he was demoted to the minors on June 14th. While his poor statistical output was the main reason for his demotion, the Twins also had concerns regarding Sanó's conditioning and work ethic. He was eventually re-called after Eduardo Escobar was traded at the deadline, which opened the third base job back up. He finished the 2018 season with a .199 average and 13 home runs in 71 big league games. All reports indicated that Sanó had a great off-season following a disappointing 2018 campaign, but he injured himself at the celebratory victory parade for his Dominican winter ball team. This kept him out until the middle of May in 2019.

After returning from his weird winter injury, Sanó proceeded to have the best season of his Major League career. Despite not debuting until May 16th, he hit 34 home runs. A lot of these were big homers too. Sanó led the league with 20 non-solo home runs in 2019, and his nine go-ahead home runs were the second most by a Twins player that season. Only Max Kepler hit more, and that was inflated by his six lead-off home runs. The crown jewel of these clutch homers was a pinch hit walk-off blast to beat the Atlanta Braves on August 5th. He also hit a go-ahead grand slam against the Indians on September 14th, which felt like a dagger in an AL Central race Minnesota had slowly been pulling away in.

It was a tale of two halves for Sanó during the 2020 season that was shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He slashed .284/.394/.636 in August, then slashed .148/.179/.383 in September. His 12 doubles that season led the Twins, who won their second consecutive AL Central crown. His 13 home runs were second on the team, trailing only Nelson Cruz.

Sanó had his second career 30 home run season in 2021, also hitting a career best 24 doubles. Various injuries limited him to just 20 games in 2022, and he hit .083 with a .345 OPS when on the field. His final hit in a Twins uniform came on April 26th of that year. This hit helped walk-off the Detroit Tigers, but Sanó was not credited with an RBI as the winning run scored on an error. Minnesota declined his contract option for the 2023 season, making Sanó a free agent.

He remained unsigned throughout the 2023 season, eventually inking a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angles in January 2024. Sanó made their Opening Day roster after a strong spring, but he was eventually designated for assignment in early July.

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