We have a Miguel Sano update that's more than him continuing treatment.
Sano on Wednesday took 60 swings, the first time he's done anything baseball related in a couple weeks. Is that a sure sign of progress? It remains to be seen. But the Sano hasn't done much more than treat the injury over the past couple of weeks,
"He's been doing rehab, but we limited the swings to get him to a point where the swelling in managed," Twins CBO Derek Falvey said. "Now we feel he is at a point where this is the best next step. In terms of offseason plan, we will revisit that when we get to that point. We're still trying to get him to a place where he can return at some point to full baseball activities so we can make a decision as to whether or not he can be a member of something moving forward."
So the Twins want to find out if Sano, who hasn't played since Aug. 19 because of a stress reaction in his left shin, can be available to them at any point in the postseason. I asked Falvey if he could be carried on the wild card roster to pull a Kirk Gibson - limp up and take one swing - if needed.
"Can I take that outcome?" Falvey said. "I think that's one where we haven't gotten to that level of conversation around something like that. At this point, we won't rule anything out."
Sano also has seen two specialists, Dr. Martin O'Malley in New York (works with the Nets) and Dr. Robert Anderson in Carolina (works with the Panthers), to make sure they were on the right path. Both of their diagnosis matched up, so the Twins will continue with their recovery plan.
Being available for the wild card round appears to be unlikely, but the Twins are assessing their options if they move on in the post season, and Sano could be one of them.
"We said all along that putting the actual date or timetable is challenging," Falvey said. We'll take it say to day. The fact he took 60 swings today felt good. We'll see how he comes in tomorrow. We're hopeful he can take another set of swings."
