The Angels release a corner outfielder Miguel Sano following last week's DFA, according to the MLB.com team log. He will become a free agent once he officially clears waivers.
Sano returned to the majors with the Halos this season after sitting out 2023. A former All-Star and third-place Rookie of the Year with the Twins, Sano looked promising early in his career but never really established himself as a player. a middle-of-the-order hitter in Minnesota, despite having 80-grade power (on a 20-80 scale). He has wiped out 25 runs in four separate MLB campaigns, including two 30-homer seasons, but has dropped strikeouts in over 36% of his career plate appearances and is often ranked as a poor defender at both corners of the infield.
From 2015-19, Sano combined for a .245/.338/.498 batting line with 118 home runs in 2,051 plate appearances with the Twins (39 homers average in 162 games played) . His bat has declined significantly since then as he has struggled to stay on the field. In 903 plate appearances from 2020-24, Sano is a .207/.295/.428 hitter. That stretch includes a 30-homer showing in 2021, but that's the only time in the last five years he's made an impact at the plate.
Sano never stopped his hitting problems and, as his struggles intensified, he began to walk slower than in his earlier days. He hit just .083/.211/.133 in 71 plate appearances for the '22 Twins, didn't play in '23, and posted an anemic .205/.295/.313 slash in 95 plate appearances as an Angel. He also missed nearly six weeks of the season with a left knee injury. Sano still has that big raw power, which could land him a minor league deal with another club, but it seems like he'll need to bounce back to the majors with a good Triple-A showing.
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