Former Minnesota Twins' Slugger Signs Minor League Deal with Los Angeles Angels
Former Minnesota Twins' slugger Miguel Sano, who did not play affiliated baseball in 2023, has signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
Per Enrique Rojas of ESPN, who had this information on "X:"
Sources: Miguel Sanó and #Angels have a minor league agreement with an invitation to training. Sanó, who is playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, did not play last summer.
Miguel Sanó y #Angels tienen acuerdo de ligas menores con invitación a entrenamientos.
It's certainly an intriguing move for the Halos, who are hoping that Sano can rediscover his prior form. Always a power threat, Sano hit 30 home runs as recently as 2021. He also hit 34 homers in 2019 with Minnesota and surpassed the 25 home run threshold in two other seasons. He made the All-Star team in 2017.
However, even though he still hits for power, Sano's batting average and strikeout issues are what did him in with the Twins. He led the league in strikeouts (90) during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and only hit .204 that year. He hit just .223 in 2021 and hit .083 in just 60 at-bats in 2022.
He also dealt with knee injuries which helped shorten his season in 2022. MLBTradeRumors had more on his last year and a half:
After that injury-marred season, the Twins decided to let him go, opting for a $3MM buyout instead of a $14MM salary. He held workouts for interested teams but ultimately didn’t sign anywhere for the 2023 season. Recently, he’s been playing for Estrellas Orientales in the Dominican Winter League and appears to be healthy. In 107 plate appearances there, he has struck out 30 times but also drawn 14 walks and launched a couple of homers, leading to a .225/.346/.405 slash line.
The Angels have young rookie Nolan Schanuel as the likely first baseman in 2024 but perhaps Sano could find time at DH in the wake of Shohei Ohtani's departure.
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