Miguel Sano Trade Talks Heating Up Again…

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Dec 27, 2017
Minnesota Twins designated hitter Miguel Sano points to the sky just as he touches home after hitting a two run homerun off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman in the first inning of a basebball game at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tuesday, July 7, 2015. (John Autey/The St. Paul Pioneer Press via AP) MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Minnesota Twins designated hitter Miguel Sano points to the sky just as he touches home after hitting a two run homerun off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman in the first inning of a basebball game at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tuesday, July 7, 2015. (John Autey/The St. Paul Pioneer Press via AP) MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Apparently I overvalue Miguel Sano. That’s become obviously clear, as I go through Twitter this afternoon. It was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon. I hit my sales quota early, at the job I still have………… and I have PTO to burn. So, I drove home excited to write a story trolling the Rams, and their quest to avoid the Vikings in the playoffs (an article I still hope to write later today). Naturally, my phone was dead, because I forgot to charge it last night….. classic. So, I threw some leftover Christmas feast into the microwave and plugged my iPhone in.

When I returned with my radiated meal, I had a text awaiting me from Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN: he’s the most under-followed account on Twitter but quickly rising so join the movement), who was working on a now-finished Harrison Smith piece. Yeah, we’re busy trying to blow this site up, remember? Anyway, the text read…. actually, here, read it for yourself:

So, I pulled up the trusty MacBook Air and hit the Twitter machine. Sure enough, the Miguel Sano Hot Stove was ablaze’…

This has already come up, if you recall. And, I wasn’t about it then. I’m still not. I’ll get to why. But first, let me show you all the smart people who disagree with me and would trade Sano for Chris Archer, straight up, without hesitation:

Ted from this tweet above is a really good baseball mind and wrote a something here on why he would pull the trigger on this instantly. You’ll see more supporting the idea right below:

I don’t think great pitching is that hard to find. I understand that the Twins haven’t had it for a long time, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You still believe in Santa, right? Plus, you know what else the Twins haven’t had in an even longer time? Great long-ball hitting. Brad Radke, Johan Santana, and even Fransisco Liriano, for one memorable rookie season, were great pitchers. The Twins have just swung and missed on a lot on pitchers recently, which has really hurt them. If you look for long-ball hitters across the organization over the last 20 years they are scarce. You might count Justin Morneau, but he never got over 34 HR’s and only made it past 30 three times, in his shortened career. If that is where you see Miguel Sano’s future, then we have a whole different conversation to be had, before even getting into what he is worth on today’s open market.

By the way, Sano and Morneau both have VERY similar numbers in their 24-year-old seasons. Morneau had 22 HR’s and 79 RBI’s that year, just a few away in both categories from Sano, from above (28, 77). When Morneau was 25…. He won the MVP with 34 HR’s and 130 RBI’s…

Am I the only person who seems to see top pitchers being traded every mid-season deadline, for prospects half as established as Sano? Sure, the time left on their contract isn’t that of Archer but who the $%^# cares? Trade a different top-10 AA prospect every year for a new workhorse, that’ll only last one playoff run, for all I care. To add fact to my emotion, look at the list of pitchers who have been traded at the deadline over JUST THE PAST 2 SEASONS (from two SBNation articles)…

Just last year, the Yankees got Sonny Gray for 2 injured prospects, along with a 3rd healthy one, all of whom may become “above-average big-league contributors at some point”, according to MLBDailyDish.com, THEY AREN’T MIGUEL SANO…. In 2016 David Price went to the Blue Jays for 3 pitching prospects I haven’t heard of yet… other than Daniel Norris who was terrible for a brutal Detroit team last year. Also in 2015, Cole Hamels was traded to the Rangers for a lot that was highlighted by Jerad Eickhoff, who has been alright, but is now 27 and had 4 wins with a 4.71 ERA last year… Alright just one more to make my point… ALSO in 2015, Johnny Cueto was traded from the Reds to the Royals for their World Series run. The Reds got 3 stud pitching prospects…. none of which are yet to pan out. Well… not fully. Brandon Finnegan (a bullpen pitcher) has been the best piece the Reds got back, by far. He has pitched 240 innings (172 in 2016), almost all of which have been after the trade. However, he was injured last season and only pitched 13 of those innings then.

So, with all of these deals for star pitchers, why is everyone so quick to give up Sano for Archer? I don’t want to point fingers but the local media doesn’t always help. The fact that he isn’t likely to stay at 3rd for more than a few more seasons plays into it. Is it his seeming refusal to lose weight, which some relate to his injury issues? Many old-schoolers don’t like his strike outs, either. But these are all things we heard about David Ortiz, and part of the reason Tom Kelly didn’t like him.. I know we aren’t DFA’ing Sano like we did Ortiz but if Sano went on to be near the player Ortiz ended up… it would feel the same.

I know the Twins need pitching and I REALLY want them to get another starter, preferably one that would be better than anything we currently have. I am willing to give up *almost any prospect in our system, including Nick Gordon, Fernando Romero or Brent Rooker (*not newly drafted Royce Lewis, because his mom follows us on Twitter… I see you Cindy). But, it’s going to take more than Chris Archer to pry Sano from my fingers. Not when I can find pitching for a better price, when needed for a stretch run. And I won’t have to give up Miguel Sano.

Eric Strack (Founder/Site Builder/Top Dog)
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan

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