Minnesota Twins: Trevor Plouffe’s Exit Is Miguel Sano’s Opportunity

The chance to play third base full-time should be good news for the Minnesota Twins’ Miguel Sano after an underwhelming second big league season.

Miguel Sano was something of a man without a home for the Minnesota Twins in 2016. The young slugger appeared in 42 games at third base, 38 in right field and 36 as a designated hitter. However, after the club cut ties with seven-year veteran Trevor Plouffe yesterday, Sano’s role could become much more stable next season.

Plouffe had been the Twins’ primary third baseman over the past few years, manning the hot corner in at least 120 games from 2013-2015. He was limited to 84 games this season due to a series of injuries and DL trips, including a strained right intercostal muscle, fractured left rib and strained right oblique.

When he did take the field, Plouffe slashed .260/.303/.420 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 344 plate appearances, numbers more or less in line with his career averages. But Minnesota waived the 30-year-old in an effort to clear space on the 40-man roster, making him a free agent.

While Plouffe will move on from the franchise that drafted him in the first round (20th overall) in the 2014 draft, one of the team’s up-and-coming faces hopes this is the start of a new opportunity. Sano burst onto the scene in 2015, belting 18 homers and driving in 52 runs to the tune of a .269/.385/.530 slash line in just 80 games. Ten of those home runs came at the notoriously pitcher-friendly Target Field, demonstrating the neophyte’s considerable power. It seemed like big things were on the horizon.

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Sano’s performance this season was somewhat of a letdown, though. The 23-year-old managed a .236/.319/.462 slash with 25 homers and 66 RBI. He also missed 46 games as he tended to hamstring and back ailments. His .781 OPS was a sharp drop from the .916 mark he produced the year prior. Sano showed less plate discipline this season, posting a 10.9 percent walk rate that was down from 15.8 percent in 2015. He didn’t get the benefit of a .396 BABIP either, as that fell to a more ordinary .329.

You could point to a variety of factors that may have contributed to Sano’s underwhelming sophomore campaign, but bouncing around between positions likely didn’t do him any favors. Some utility men thrive on their jack-of-all-trades flexibility, but Sano isn’t that type of player. The stability of knowing that he will be the Twins’ everyday third baseman (his preferred spot) could help him get back on track.

The power is certainly still there. While Sano failed to match last year’s .262 ISO (isolated power), he still managed a well above average .227 mark. That’s good news for a Twins team that could potentially trade second baseman Brian Dozier and his 42 home runs this offseason. If that happens, Minnesota will count on Sano even more to be the masher at the heart of its lineup.

For what it’s worth, Sano has also expressed his determination to shed excess weight this winter. 20 pounds of it, to be precise. That should help him both at the plate and in the field. He told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “My plans for next year are to work harder during the offseason, try to lose weight and come back next year and play the whole season at third base.”

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With Plouffe now gone, the stage is set for Sano to do exactly that. He just has to follow through. The Twins need a better year from him if they want to rebound from this season’s league-worst finish.

All statistics courtesy of Fangraphs.