It's Official: Sano to have Tommy John Surgery

Twins fans may have gone to bed on Friday night excited to get their first glimpse of the 2014 Minnesota Twins. Saturday's noon (central time) Twins game will be televised on Fox Sports North.

Twins fans were also holding on to a hope that uber-prospect Miguel Sano might be able to avoid Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately, that proved to be just a dream. On Saturday morning, Twins media was informed that Sano will head to Minneapolis next week and have Tommy John surgery.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

Sano is a clear top ten prospect in the game of baseball. He is regarded as the top third base prospect and the best power-hitting prospect in baseball. He hit 35 home runs in 2013 between Ft. Myers and New Britain. There was some hope that he could surface with the Twins sometime, maybe early, in the 2014 season.

However, in just his second game in the Dominican Winter League, Sano came out of the game with a sore elbow. After seeing Twins doctors and the respected Dr. James Andrews, the decision was made for Sano to rest for two months, and then start a throwing program in January.

Things went well until Thursday's intrasquad game. Sano made two nice plays and showed off his strong arm. However, when he had to make an off-balanced throw, the pain came back.

The Pioneer Press's Mike Berardino posted a Tout video of an interview he conducted with Sano after learning the news. It's sad, and you can just seen the sadness and disappointment in his face.

He is expected to miss the entire 2014 season. Recovery time from Tommy John surgery for position players is generally in the six to eight month range as opposed to the twelve (or more) months it takes a pitcher to return.

It will be interesting to see how the Twins and Sano handle his return. Could he be some at bats in a rehab in the GCL late in the summer? He should be ready for Instructional League. Could they send him to the Arizona Fall League? There is no reason to believe that he won't be at 100% before next spring training.

Twins fans can hope. Best wishes to Miguel Sano.