Twins first baseman Miguel Sanó will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his injured left knee, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters before Tuesday’s game in Baltimore. There’s no timetable for his return, although Baldelli said Monday that Sanó could still return this season if he elected to have surgery.
“It’s not generally the longest of rehabs,” Baldelli said. “We know that in general terms, but we’re not going to put a number on it at the moment. He is definitely in favor of getting this done and I think our medical staff agrees with him.”
Sanó injured his knee against the Tigers last Tuesday during the postgame walk-off celebration, and sat out the next three games. He returned to the lineup Saturday against the Rays and attempted to play through the injury, but he left midgame due to a flareup. The Twins placed him on the 10-day injured list Monday with what was initially deemed a left knee sprain, but Tuesday’s news marked a turn for the worse.
Would Baldelli prefer his players to tone down their celebrations to try to protect themselves?
“It’s kind of hard to control in the moment, guys are going to be excited,” Baldelli said. “And there’s been a lot of celebrations in the history of our game. There’s been a few guys, anytime there’s anything going on whether it’s an altercation on the field, or a celebration or something. I think [James Rowson] fell over the railing and hurt himself at one point. Anything can happen when those things start happening on the field. It’s not something that I think is going to happen very often, no.”
The knee procedure is the latest chapter in what’s been a difficult year for Sanó, who is slashing .093/.231/.148 with a strikeout rate of 32.3% in 17 games. In his absence, No. 3 prospect Jose Miranda — whom the team called up Monday to make his MLB debut — could have a chance to establish himself.