Minnesota Twins rookie slugger Miguel Sano will be unable to join the club in their next games because he sprained his ankle after stepping on a baseball during drills Saturday and playing through it on the same day against the Oakland Rangers.
Sano went 0-for-3 against the Athletics but hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning that gave the Twins the lead. Still they ended up losing 3-2.
The 22-year-old baseball player left Saturday's game on crutches and was not included in the lineup Sunday.
In a report by ESPN, Sano stepped on a baseball coming from the outfield while he was doing first base drills.
"I was out there when it happened. He had been taking balls behind the bag, and he had moved in to take one coming off the bag. There was one [ball] between first and second that had rolled in from the outfield," Twins manager Paul Molitor said according to the Star Tribune.
Molitor added, "He had made the play and came down on the ball. I guess we should have cleared the area a little better."
He also discussed how the injury bothered Sano during their game against Oakland Saturday.
"It seemed like he was going to be OK, but I think progressively, as the game went on, it just got more difficult for him to plant on that foot when he was hitting and probably aggravated it a little more during the course of the game," Molitor explained.
According to the report by Star Tribune, Sano would not be placed on the disabled list if he will be able to recover within 3-5 days.
Sano will also not undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and had a rest day Monday before the Twins check up on him Tuesday.
"I wouldn't want to get into a DL situation if a guy is going to be available here in a relatively short amount of time," Molitor said about Sano's situation.
