Minnesota Twins Activate Slugger Miguel Sano

In order to make room for Sano, the Twins optioned Gilberto Celestino to Triple-A. After owning a .359 average and .860 OPS through his first 28 games this season, Celestino has hit .202 with just a .503 OPS across 38 games since. Celestino looks the part of a legitimate big league defender, but he may benefit from a reset similar to what he experienced last season with the Saints.

Needing a spot on the 40-man roster as well, given Sano was placed on the 60-day injured list, the Twins transferred reliever Danny Coulombe to the 60-day injured list.

At the time of Miguel Sano's knee injury, the Minnesota Twins were 12-9 with a three-game lead in the American League Central Division. Sano himself was carrying a terrible .093/.231/.148 (.379) slash line that saw him record just a single extra-base hit in 65 plate appearances.

Although it was cold and the ball wasn’t flying to start the year, Rocco Baldelli needed Sano to step up at first base with second-year player Alex Kirilloff dealing with a nagging wrist issue. Minnesota saw Sano as the only true first baseman on the roster, and it wasn’t until Luis Arraez was forced into action at the position that he emerged as an eventual All-Star and held down the fort.

The Twins are now 52-44 with a three-game lead in the division, but both the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians continue to breathe down their neck. Horrible pitching performances have stunted the opportunity to expand on the lead over their competition, but far too often the lineup has gone dormant as well.

Obviously, Sano would love to be returning to better numbers, but if you’ve been a fan of Minnesota for any amount of time, you know how quickly Sano can go on one of his hot streaks. He was making loud contact at the big league level prior to his knee injury, and the rehab stint has provided some room to hope. Across 12 games with the Triple-A Saints and FCL Twins, Sano owns a .333/.422/.795 line. He recorded three doubles and blasted five homers while compiling an 12/6 K/BB.

Sano returns to somewhat of a crowded situation at first base with Kirilloff and Arraez now both being well established at the position. Rookie Jose Miranda has gone on a tear since a slow start, and while he's more suited at the hot corner, he too has provided value at first base. Sano will draw starts at designated hitter as well, and that role has become less crowded with the injury to Ryan Jeffers.

In order to make room for Sano, the Twins optioned Gilberto Celestino to Triple-A. After owning a .359 average and .860 OPS through his first 28 games this season, Celestino has hit .202 with just a .503 OPS across 38 games since. Celestino looks the part of a legitimate big league defender, but he may benefit from a reset similar to what he experienced last season with the Saints.

The Twins have just five games left in the month of July. They remain on the road until August 1st, at which point they return home to face a bottom-feeding Detroit Tigers team. Minnesota would love for Sano to parlay hit hot-hitting during his rehab assignment into renewed production at the highest level.

It would seem to be a fair assessment that Minnesota would be open to dealing Sano should an offer come their way. He’s still due roughly $12 million even with his 2023 buyout, and opening up the roster spot rather than DFA’ing him for nothing could be a positive outcome. The Major League Baseball trade deadline in 2022 is on August 2nd.