Sano staying at third base?

When Twins manager Paul Molitor said Tuesday that Miguel Sano might be close to a promotion, what stood out to me was how he answered my follow-up question.

June 17, 2015 at 2:31PM
Miguel Sano
Miguel Sano (Tom Wallace — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

St. Louis

When Twins manager Paul Molitor said Tuesday that Miguel Sano might be close to a promotion, what stood out to me was how he answered my follow-up question.

Have the Twins thought about moving Sano around so he can play other positions once he arrives in the majors?

Paraphrased, Molitor's answer was, no.

So here's a team struggling to score runs. its cleanup hitter is having a productive season. That cleanup hitter, Trevor Plouffe, plays third base, and has dramatically improved his fielding this season. And Sano isn't moving around.

That says, to me, that the Twins' answer to the logjam at third base will be trading Plouffe, now or later. Maybe they could find enough at-bats for Sano by moving him around to first base, DH, left field and third, but if that was the plan he would probably be playing other positions now at Class AA.

Personally, I'd rather see this team with Plouffe and Sano in the same lineup. With Kennys Vargas struggling, Sano could become a full-time DH as a rookie. That goes against the Twins' ways, and would be unconventional, but the Orioles did it with Eddie Murray when Lee May was in his final year as a first baseman, and Murray developed into not only a Hall of Famer but a Gold Glover.

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The first SouhanUncensored podcast is up at MalePatternPodcasts.com, featuring Byron Buxton and myself trying to do an interview in the dugout while Eddie Guardado blows cigar smoke at us.

Here's the link: https://goo.gl/6b8el0

@Souhanstrib

about the writer

about the writer

Jim Souhan

Columnist

Jim Souhan is a sports columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has worked at the paper since 1990, previously covering the Twins and Vikings.

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