No players are here, but that's by design.
Since the first two games of this series went ridiculously long - with last night's game being fueled by a rain delay - Twins players were told to report later than normal this morning. So the clubhouse is empty and there is no sign of a lineup for today's game.
So I'll throw a couple thoughts down and wait for the clubhouse to come to life.
The Twins, indeed, will have an interesting decision to make when Miguel Sano is ready to join the team. The Twins gambled when they moved him to right field this season, and it has not worked out. It's tough to make an infielder an outfielder while in the majors, and Sano is proof of that.
Sano should, at least, play one or twice a week at third base. He likes playing there and he looks more comfortable there. That requires some shuffling, because of how the Twins constructed the roster during the offseason.
The easy move would be to send Byung Ho Park to the minors for awhile to get on track. The addition of Park locked up the DH spot, a spot that could have been used to rotate Sano, Trevor Plouffe, Joe Mauer, and Oswaldo Arcia through. The other component to this is the rise of Max Kepler. Kepler deserves development time and should be left alone in right field. Sano and Plouffe could bounce between third base and DH - if the DH spot was open.
When I examine solutions to this problem, I keep coming back to Park. The Twins made a four-year commitment to Park in December, so they need Park to come around and become the power threat they expect him to be. Sending him to the minors for a month is a short-term move, but it allows the Twins juggle Sano and Plouffe while leaving Kepler alone for a few weeks. Then maybe, MAYBE, the Twins make a move at the trade deadline that addresses this bottleneck.
Get ready for trade rumors to heat up over the next few weeks. The Mets are looking for a third baseman and might consider Eduardo Nunez, who is having a career year. They also have shown interest in Cuban infielder Yulieski Gourriel.
