To set the scene: Remember back to May 15, 2021. On that Saturday at Target Field, the Twins trailed Oakland for most of the game until Miguel Sano blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to steal a 5-4 victory.
As Sano rounded the bases, he shouted into the void, "We're the best team in the world! Let's go!"
The Twins were not, in fact, the best team in the world at that point, at least numerically speaking. They were actually 13-24 and on their way to a playoff-less campaign. And for Sano, that home run was just his third of the season and raised his batting average to .127.
Audacious? Certainly. But if there's one vital characteristic Sano brings to the Twins, it's an unbridled confidence and carefree joy no matter how good or bad he and his team are faring.
"Regardless of how things are going, you know what you're going to get from him. He's a competitive guy. He goes out there. He plays hard. Plays through everything," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "… He's the kind of guy that you want on your team. I would always say that from the first day I met him until now. He's been a guy in that clubhouse that really does a lot for his teammates, and he does it with personality, too."
That's an important positive to weigh with the Twins, who activated Sano from the injured list Monday night. With the 29-year-old first baseman healed from an early May surgery to repair his torn left meniscus, the Twins sent outfielder Gilberto Celestino to Class AAA St. Paul and moved lefthander Danny Coulombe to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.
Sano hasn't played for the Twins since April 30, when he was hitting .093 with one home run and three RBI in 17 games. He hurt his knee celebrating a walkoff victory on a bizarre play, the second freak injury of his career — in 2019 he cut his right heel on metal steps to a stage while reveling in the Dominican Winter League Championship and missed the start of the Twins' season.
Sano completed his minor league rehab assignment Saturday in St. Paul. He played 12 combined games with the rookie-level Florida Complex League and the Saints, hitting .348 in seven games with St. Paul, with three homers and 10 strikeouts in 26 plate appearances.