Twins make offer to Miguel Angel Sano…sort of
Posted on July 2nd, 2009 – 4:33 PMBy La Velle
STILL FROM KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, MO. — I was told today that the Twins have made an offer to Dominican superprospect Miguel Angel Sano - but it’s contingent on him being able to prove that he’s 16.
When I first head that, I was like, “Well, yah, if he’s not 16 then aren’t all deals off anyway?” Anyway, that’s what I was told by a good source and I’m running with it.
And proving his age is one of the unsolved mysteries of all time, apparently.
The Twins, Pirates and Orioles are the teams known to have interest in Sano, an infielder with power potential. Pittsburgh is believed to have made an offer for him too. Check out his photo on the Post-Gazette site. It’s believed that the Twins offer is around $3 million.
It was the Twins who recently asked Major League Baseball investigators to get involved in Sano’s age verification process. That shows they are pretty serious about the kid. But records on childbirths in the Dominican Republic apparently are as tough to figure out as one of Craig’s blog responses. I kid, Craig. I kid. But the process could take awhile.
If Sano (pronounced Son-YO) is caught lying about his age he won’t be allowed to sign with aa club for a year. Even if he’s really 18 he’s still a prospect - but won’t command offers in the $3 million range.
Sano is considered a shortstop now but speed is not his best asset and he’s projected to be a 220-pounder. He very well might wind up at third base or the outfield. But he has power to all fields and a swing some think is special.
There have been rumors that Sano is looking for a bonus in the $4 million range. Would the Twins go that high? One time they thought they had a shot at a top Latin prospect was when they offered Miguel Cabrera $1 million and watched Florida sign him for $1.8 million.
If the Twins sign Sano for something in the $3 million range, it would obliterate their record bonus for an international prospect, which was $775,000 for Alexander Smit in 2002. In fact, their second highest bonus on the international front is around $150,000 for infielder James Beresford, an Australian currently at Class A Beloit.
COULD BE THE BREAKTHROUGH YEAR
Even if they don’t sign Sano, the Twins still might set signing bonus records this year. From talking with a couple of people within the organization, the Twins have spent recent years pushing hard to improve their relationships in Latin America and feel this might be the year it all pays off.
“We’re pursuing a lot of different players and we are pursuing some high profile players.” Twins general manager Bill Smith. “We have put a lot of time in the past two to three years. This is one of our bullets: To get strong in the international market. We’ve have had some interest in some high profile players (in the past) and haven’t been able to finish them off.”
For instance, the most money doesn’t always get the best players. Facilities, staff and the right words do. Michael Inoa signed with A’s last year for around $4.25 million when Texas reportedly offered more. It didn’t hurt that Billy Beane made a trip to the Dominican Republic to meet the family.
Bill Smith and Mike Radcliff have been to Latin America and know the lay of the land and how things work.
“We continue to be aggressive. We have dispatched some of our best scouts there.”
Indications are that the Twins are in on a few other top prospects. Not for Sano money, but more than that have laid out in the past.
Fred Guerrero is the Twins’ scout in the Dominican Republic. Based in Santo Domingo, Fred Guerrero is the son of Epy Guerrero, who signed George Bell, Tony Fernandez, Jose Mesa, Carlos Delgado, Kelvim Escobar and other top Latin prospects. The Twins hope Fred has his father’s eye for talent and the ability to close deals.
So the Twins seem to have the resources and manpower in place to become a bigger player in the Dominican Republic. Let’s see if it really pays off this season. And let’s see if Sano is really 16.
101 Responses to "Twins make offer to Miguel Angel Sano…sort of"
Good stuff, LaVelle… I take back the whole “tease” thing! 
I still have trouble believing the Twins will shell out that kind of money, but I’m more than willing to be proven wrong. It would certainly send a signal that the wallet is being opened… and that could certainly make the offseason more interesting to follow.
Hope your trip home goes smoother at this point.
Thanks La Velle. My breath is sufficiently bated.
Good report, LEN. Thanks, and should make for some interesting discussions.
So for another million dollars we could have had Miguel Cabrera. Would that have been money well spent? Insert eye roll here. It makes me wonder where they wasted their money that year. Butch Huskey?
If the Twins sign Sano and become big players in Latin America, it will put me in a great mood. This is exactly what they need to do. As a small revenue team, they really need to have a productive farm system and this is one way to do it. $3 million is a lot of money, but if you aren’t spending the big bucks to resign people like Torii Hunter and Johan Santana, you need to have a good group of solid prospects to replace these players. I think that the Latin America investment is an efficient use of funds for the Twins. Incidentally, the new stadium should make them less of a small revenue team. By the way, I think small revenue is a better term than small market because our market isn’t that small, it is our revenue that is small because of the dome and its limitations.
Good stuff. Probably $3.5M will make it happen. The Orioles are out it and still not clear whether the Pirates made an offer or not.
Jarod,
for the past 2 years the Twins have been players in Latin America: Case in point: Look at the GCL Twins and ELZ Twins rosters this season.
Thrylos:
You are correct. I guess my point is that it seems like we are becoming much bigger players. And, of course, it takes a couple years to lay the foundation for that. You can’t do it by just throwing money around. You need to develop relationships and have good scouts watch people play.
Nice list on MLBTR of all the middle infielders that could, potentially, be available this month. Certainly something to keep bookmarked.
Better yet, maybe someone with Bill Smith’s email address could send him the link?
Sounds promising…
Any idea when Casilla will be back up?
The Twins have always signed Latin players, but they have not been top prospects. In Venezuela they’ve been fairly active but the Dominican situation has been very weak… when is the last time the Twins had a good home-grown Dominican prospect? (Christian Guzman of course came over from the Yanks).
That just isn’t acceptable when you consider how significant the DR is as a source of Major League talent. With the new stadium, the Twins should ramp up player development accordingly.
La Velle,
BA’s Ben Badler did not knock the fact that there is an offer by the Twins’ for Sano out, which is a good thing. Earlier, McPhail said that the Orioles are not in it any more and a potential offer from the Pirates was dismissed by ESPN’s Jorge Arangure. So it looks like the Twins are in good shape re: Sano
Ayala signed with the Marlins.
After 3-4 appearances, Dan Uggla should become available in a trade as the Marlins disappear from the NL wild card race.
Nice thought JC… Now if they were to take on Rincon and Bass… 
Jim, you know Gardy will find the negative in Uggla’s glove though
Well… chances are several of us would managed to complain about his glove since supposedly it’s not that good (and if last year’s AS Game performance is any indication), but I’m willing to take that chance if Gardy and Bill are
Now I’ve heard of everything.
Astros and Padres are in a lengthy “bee delay”.
Bees have invaded the stadium in SD.
At Target Field, it’ll be mosquitos, I suppose?
JC….Streakers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Before anyone gets too excited about Uggla look at his splits vs. left hand pitching. If we go out and get a guy you would hope he hits left handers well as that is one of our weaknesses. I still gotta believe that Sanchez won’t cost us all that much and the Pirates I assume are motivated.
Hey Thrylos
Brian Bass is actually having an okay year this year so good for him. Too bad it wasn’t last year.. I wonder how long Ayala will have the 8th inning role in Florida??
La Velle,
Jorge Arangure said that there are no offers on Sano yet…
here:
Jeff,
Ayala will probably be below Leo Nunez and Kiko Calero in the pecking order of things there bar an injury. Bassie is a little better but his numbers are very Ayala like
I would imagine it could be that as long as there are strings attached, there are no official offers. It doesn’t mean the Twins haven’t said, “prove you’re 16 and this is the offer we have for you.”
Hope that everything we are hearing about the Twins attempts to sign Sano are real. It just does not sound like the same Twins to do that. If we get him I say send Tony Oliva to make life long friends with that Chapman kid and get him in uniform!!
alright thrylos i’m following ya on twitter now so i will see the developments
Jeff,
I suspect the are real. They are throwing a lot of money in Latin America the last couple of years. The one think of note is that Sano does not project as a SS, but as an OF or maybe 3B.
Shawn,
I suspect that nothing will happen tonight unless it happens in an hour or two. After that it’s Sano’s bed time
Thrylos
Are the Twins still the only team with a baseball academy in Venezuela? I know they were a few years ago and you would think that would help us with a leg up on the other teams.
On that note… Now wouldn’t Cabrera have looked so nice batting in between Mauer and Morneau these past years!!
Are the Twins still the only team with a baseball academy in Venezuela?
The Twins left even the VSL :). No. Their main Academy is in the Dominican right now and that’s where the Latin Ameraican signees go. They have kids from places like Aruba, Trinidad and even Venezuela there. If it hasn’t closed, I might suspect that is just for scouting and not for development reasons. Their DSL team has been stellar for a couple of years and this year looks equally good.
I read that they did tests on Sanyo to determine his age. Maybe carbon dating or something like they use on those T-Rexes in South Dakota. Anyway, he registered 16 years.
I had a Sanyo TV once that was pretty good.
It sure would be sweet if the Twin’s would step up to the plate & sign some International talent. I would rather they sign some young talent than the Ayalas & other washed up 3 month rentals.
Shaun, you need to be careful what you write on this blog, because there are a few bloggers who will believe you.
I read that they did tests on Sanyo to determine his age. Maybe carbon dating or something like they use on those T-Rexes in South Dakota
funny
What they did was what is called a “Bone Graft Test”. Sounds awful but it really is trying to determine bone density (very close to the test they do on later age adults to determine osteoporosis). The theory is that kids bones grow up to some age and the bone density is an indication of age (think of counting rings on a three stump to determine the age of a tree). His tests came out saying that he is 15-17 years old (based on the average bone density on average kids). MLB does not believe in these tests. I suspect that they are digging up birth certs and hospital records and such and the DR, is not a great record keeper…
Just got confirmation that the Twins will sign SS Jorge Polanco (2 sources confirm, but this is the latest : )
Polanco can’t officially sign until he turns 16 on the 5th.
Badler posted the following story about a month ago:
Polanco is a 6-foot switch-hitter who scouts say is better from the left side, showing above-average speed, with the hands, range and arm to remain at shortstop.
“Polanco is not on the same level as guys like Sano, Vinicio or Aybar,” said an international scouting director. “He’s more in the next level, but he might end up being a pretty good player.”
From the same story…
The Angels were among the teams that appeared to be more aggressive in Latin America this year—along with the Blue Jays, Pirates, Rays and Twins, among others…
It’s nice to just read that the Twins were one of the most aggressive.
Jeremy,
both ESPN’s Jorge Arangure and Baseball America’s Ben Badler confirmed that he will be signed by the Twins (and Jorge said the bonus amount as well: $700K) so I suspect that it is a done deal waiting to be announced Sunday or Monday.
I’m with you thrylos, but because of his birthday, that’s why it can’t be official…
700K? Looks like Smit is going to keep hold of the record (at least for a few more days, fingers crossed that it’s only a few more days).
98 said Sano will be the starting 3rd baseman NEXT year. Give me a break. Where does this guy come off>
I think that tomorrow is the day we’ll know whether the record will still be broken. Jorge Arangure still gives the Pirates as having a higher chance to sign Sano than the Twins, but we’ll see. And the bottom line is this: if the Twins’ budge and give Sano half of what their eating up for Ayala right now (not to mention Mike Lamb - they are paying him $3-some mil this year to sip Margaritas under the sun), he will be a Twin…
JC Smith (aka T.opp D.ogg, aka R.ocky S.imon),
Sano will not be the Twins’ starting 3B next year, Danny Valencia will be.
Anybody have rough ML projections for Sano and Polanco?
Brandon,
that’s like asking whether you can have NFL projections of a high school sophomore running back… Lots of variables
Thrylos wakes up every morning at a Holiday Inn Express…
t98 - I appreciate the updates, thanks.
And just ignore the 12 yr olds, they get bored easily.
Chief,
methinks that this is their Wii break
good to see the Twins active in the international market
You tell him USAFE-9
I like thrylos and all of the info he always comes up with, but that was a great line Pete.
Sorry t98, I did’nt realize so many were giving you grief tonight. Did’nt mean to pile on.
Speaking of Alexander Smit, whatever happened to him? He’s with another organization now isn’t he?
I saw him pitch a couple years ago in Cedar Rapids (Kernels) when he was with the Snappers. Pitched 7 no hit innings, but the game went 18. I gave up and left after 13.
Brainfreeze,
no problem
sawdustking,
Alexander Smit is in the Red’s system and currently with their AA club. Decent numbers, too many walks.
I can’t remember if he walked anybody, but no hits…
Oh well, good luck in Cinci, Alex…
No game tonight but lots of other good stuff going on. Twins are giving Sanyo an offer he can’t refuse. The Wild lose their best player to New York. The Vikes Number One Draft Choice is missing meetings again. Some think because drug tests were given. I didn’t say that, did I? And the T-Wolves Number One Choice is renting an apartment in Minneapolis. KC is screwing us over some more, losing to the Sox who are a half game ahead of us now. Killer bees invade San Diego. After an hour the Padres called in a SWAT team so they could play their game. This sounds like Weekend Update on SNL.
That’s the news folks, I’m outta here.
Why the fcuk would anyone complain about t98 hitting all these free agent updates. I appreciate the effort. Thank you.
Where else does anyone get information tonight?
Don’t know if I am the “12 year old” you are speaking of, and I’m sorry if I came off that way, but I am far from 12. I was simply asking, because there always seems to be a few projections out after the draft, or the grading scale (1-7 I believe?), so just wondering if there was anything like that for International prospects? Again, I apologize for sounding 12, if I was the one you guys are speaking of…
Get out B. This is worthwhile.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/07/01/rivera/index.html?eref=sihpT1
Brandon, you’re not who I was speaking of. Sorry if you thought so.
OK, no problem. Lol I was like wow, Im 12 for asking that question?! But I am VERY intrigued by the idea of our Twins being major players in the International prospects. I will literally say a prayer tonight in hope of signing Sano! When you look at it, we really do have a fairly deep system in terms of young talent, and I mean offensive talent as well. I am including the youngsters like Span, Gomez, Young, Casilla, etc… We have a lot of potential trade bait for the future!
Looks like posting a link sent my post to blogging purgatory, so let’s try again.
Sanchez supporters have a bit of encouragement this morning from Morosi over at FOX.
“The Pirates, who are apparently not done dealing yet, have engaged in trade discussions with the Twins regarding a number of players, major league sources said Thursday.
At present, Minnesota is most interested in second baseman Freddy Sanchez and relievers Matt Capps and John Grabow, the sources said.”
The story includes a BS quote that, while not a confirmation, is still certainly not a denial.
C’mon Bill! Pull the trigger, baby!
“C’mon Bill! Pull the trigger”
Is that command in force, without regard for what we may have to give up? (see Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett)
Now, sane, I think ya know me better than that.
But based on what the Bucs have been getting in return for the other players they’ve dealt recently, it appears they’re not out to commit highway robbery, either. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume a reasonable deal is there to be made. It may, of course, be a longer limb to assume Bill and the Twins brass have similar views to mine as to what constitutes “reasonable”.
So think of it less as a command than a plea for the brain trust to get their heads together and come up with some answers.
I do find it interesting that they’re talking to Pittsburg… the team they are supposedly competing with for Sano’s services. Makes one wonder how that competition could be affecting trade discussions (if at all).
Also, while on the subject of the Pirates… anyone else notice old friend Garrett Jones got the tough 3/4 of the cycle last night? 2B, 3B and the HR.
I hear rumors of Freddy Sanchez, Matt Capps, or Grabow from the Bucs. What are the chances on any of these guys?
As far as Sanchez goes, a comparable trade would be that of Castillo a few years ago for the Twins. Castillo was a couple of years younger than Sanchez and had 3 GGs in a row, plus his contract was smaller. If you do not remember, the Twins gave up Scott Tyler and Travis Bowyer. Does anyone miss them? So I think that Alexi Casilla plus a low level prospect might get this done.
Both Capps and Grabow have been somewhat disappointing this season so I suspect that if they were to get them both that trade would include Crain and something like Duensing and a decent relief prospect like Blair Erickson
Casilla has been in the dog house too much. Crain would also be available do to his lack of production for multiple years now.
BUT…
I can’t imagine the Twins wanting to give up on Duensing so quickly. He was only promoted to AA for the first time this year ??
Either way… I still think the $$ is what will slow this down and eventually be the bust we all hoped for yet never see.
I’d say its at 25%
you?
I’m skeptical, but if Smith’s going to pull the trigger, it should be sooner rather than later.
We’re halfway through the season. The value of a trade goes down with every passing day.
Not to mention, this is a pretty important homestand coming up.
Sanchez isn’t a great hitter, but he’s decent and represents a pretty clear upgrade over what we’re likely to get from second base over the last half the season. He gets paid $8M next year, but I think that’s doable since it’s likely Crede’s money will be off the books in 2010 and there’s a big jump in revenue on the way.
Neither Grabow or Capps, are great, but either would be a nice fit in the bullpen.
If the Twins are taking on all of Sanchez’ salary, that might reduce the return to Pittsburgh as well.
Do it Bill.
not sure about the 2 bullpen pitchers, but might as well try anything out there at this point..bringing in sanchez however is good enough to get this deal done. proven hitter, perfect for our 2 hole..don’t like to get my hopes up, but this would be a great addition to the twins
Now a writer from Pittsburgh is saying that the Twins are NOT talking trade with them about Sanchez… Huh?? I hope that is not true as he is perfect for this club in the #2 spot not to mention he will play 2nd base which is our weakest link.. It will also send a strong signal that the Twins are going to do what it takes to improve the club to the fans and players as well.
I have’nt seen him play much, but did’nt Sanchez win a batting title(or come close) a couple of years ago.
Sanchez did win a batting title a couple of years ago. He was playing 3rd base at the time for the Pirates too. He is also a good friend of Justin Morneau for what its worth.
53 doubles when he won that batting title too. Gap power like Mauer when he’s on. If its feasible, get it done. As an aside, whatever happened to Travis Bowyer. Did he get injured? I find no stats past 2005. Wasn’t he a Morillo type?
Now a writer from Pittsburgh is saying that the Twins are NOT talking trade with them about Sanchez… Huh??
Like I said, I’m skeptical.
I would love to be proven incorrect, though.
Now a writer from Pittsburgh is saying that the Twins are NOT talking trade with them about Sanchez… Huh??
who? Pittsburgh Gazette’s Pirates’ beat writer is Dejan Kovacevic and he had nothing about Sanchez as far as trade go, in his piece or in his blog. Jenifer Langosch covers them for mlb.com and the mlb network and she wrote nothing about Sanchez. These are the only 2 Pirates’ beat writers.
Could it be that it was a blogger?
There are some comments in his gazette blog by commenters of this nature:
“How about Capps, Grabow, and Sanchez for Aaron Hicks, Shooter Hunt, and Francisco Liriano.”
Kovacevic apparently ‘twittered’ that the Twins-Pirates were not talking about Sanchez. You can get confirmation at mlbtraderumors.
Thrylos
I hope he is wrong and Morosi is right on this one.. This trade makes so much sense for the Twins. It is a little out of character for them but I am hoping that Smith will get it done.
we’ll see. Kovecevic wrote earlier this morning that he was on his way to Florida today, so I hope that he was not up to date on this
By looking at his picture i think i can help clear up his age. He looks to be between 15 -20 years of age. No need for thanks just glad to help.
The Twins just signed Max Kepler (OF) the best European prospect this year per Keith Law.
ok, twitter is a great way to get the twins updates, i’m sold
I hope that DeVries and Fox going to Pittsburgh in this deal is not accurate. If it is I would imagine that the deal would be for more then just Sanchez.
Jeff, I doubt that the Twins need to part with that much for Sanchez and I see no way for Casilla to be still in the organization if the Twins get a second baseman.
Fox or Devries is acceptable , but not both
Fox will be fine to part with. He is 25 and in AA.
Thrylos
So what did you find out about this Max Kepler kid? I don’t think too many people know anything about him.
Jeff,
LHB, OF, 6′4″ 180. Above average speed and arm. Power will come as he fills in and speed will drop. He is 16 and still growing so he can be Dave Winfield size +
Here’s a lousy stat:
Mauer, Cuddyer, Gomez, and Young all have but 9 RBIs in the past 30 days.
Can’t complain about Gomez and Young. But the Twins are offensively droppy lately. BA is down. Last 30 days only .261. M&M and 2B are the reasons for that.
But it all comes down to runs scored. And it’s been dismal the last 30 days for the Twins. So we need Mauer and Cuddy to step up.
Putting Mauer back in the 2 hole is probably a necessary first step to move in that direction.
And let’s see if Young is the DH over Kubel tonight.
9 RBIs each, of course.
Thrylos
I thought I had read somewhere that the German kid is a Catcher not an outfielder?? Unless he does both of course.
Romer
I knew it was bad but I had NO idea it was that bad! Especially with Cuddyer and Mauer.
romer, I hope Gardy puts DY at the DH tonight. Lefty, 1st career start; as good a matchup as DY’ll get.
Yeah Jeff, and it wasn’t too rosy for Morneau either in June. But he had a good KC series so his RBIs the past 30 days are okay.
I mean, if the excellent staff ERA of about 3.3 the past 30 days doesn’t relax and inspire them to start focusing with RISP this homestand, things could look very bleak.
The good news is, Detroit isn’t scoring much either the past 30, having outscored only three teams in the AL. The past 30 days runs scored:
Twins 113
Tigers 112
Agreed, OB.
Wish it woulda been Morales, but we’re essentially down to 2 catchers again.
What say:
Span LF
Mauer C
Morneau 1B
Cuddyer RF
Harris SS
Crede 3B
Young DH
Gomez CF
Tolbert 2B
Ugly at the bottom but what else can be done with the present roster?
Thrylos,,great scoop and insight….
you are ahead of all reports,
here is a tidbit from BA re: Kepler
This is tonight’s lineup:
span lf, harris ss, mauer c, morneau 1b, cuddyer rf, crede 3b, young dh, gomez cf, punto 2b, slowey rhp
BC of ND makes an educated guess at 1:50. I had to look up a photo of Sano to see for myself. This is labeled Miguel Angel Sano. I don’t see an adam’s apple or pubes on his face, so he may be 15:
Romer
Just another big reason why we need an upgrade at 2nd base. Especially a guy that hits for a high average.
I asked the Mrs. for her opinion of Miguel Angel Sano. After looking at the photo she thought he did indeed look like an angel, but five or six million was a little too much to give a twelve year old who holds his bat upside down.
Here it is again:
Shaun,
here is a better one: Family portrait outside his house:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3542/3414963759_490f3ec54c_o.jpg
