Twins: 3 players who should be dropped like a bad habit

There’s no denying Sano’s power, but he continues to strike out at massive levels that depletes that impact. Any sign he had figured anything out in the middle of last season faded after that (.161, 45 strikeouts in 98 plate appearances from Aug. 29 -Sept. 27).

In this homer-heavy era, Sano’s power numbers (34 home runs over 105 games in 2019) don’t stand out to add value even as strikeouts don’t carry the same stigma they once did. He’s already shifted off a more premium defensive position at third base to being a first base/DH type, which would have happened with or without the Twins signing Josh Donaldson last offseason. The timeline for the position switch was just upped by bringing Donaldson in, smartly on the team’s part.

Not that he showed himself to be worthy of one, but the Twins were able to avoid giving Sano a back-breaking contract extension when it came time. He has two years and a total of $20.25 million left on that deal, with a $14 million club option for 2023 ($2.75 million buyout).

Sano reeks of the kind of guy another team would think they can get through to and fix to reduce his pull-happy, swing-and-miss tendencies. I’ll refer back to the tentpoles of a Sano potential scale once offered by Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune—Miguel Cabrera and Dave Kingman, and as Reusse opined it was up to him which one he became.

If another team still thinks Sano can become any inkling of Cabrera, the Twins would do well move off of a once-top prospect who has become more suspect than star.