OAKLAND, CALIF. – Twins first baseman Miguel Sano will be placed on the 10-day injured list Friday after straining his right hamstring during Tuesday's doubleheader against the Athletics and will be replaced by top prospect Alex Kirilloff on the roster.
Sano has struggled to get his bat going this season. In 15 games he is hitting .111 with two home runs and four RBI in 58 at-bats, along with 13 walks and 20 strikeouts. He played in Game 1 of the doubleheader but sat out Game 2.
Kirilloff's not making the Opening Day roster surprised some, as has his exclusion from the taxi squad.
"Our whole view of him through spring training and afterward was, 'OK, his timing's not where it needs to be. He needs to get into a rhythm. He's a hitter that we know is going to be impactful here in the days to come. How do we make sure we keep him going and getting into a good routine?' " said Derek Falvey, Twins president of baseball operations. "Well, that would run somewhat counter to what we felt was available on the road, quite frankly. He'd just stopped seeing live pitching for a handful of days."
Of course, the Twins did end up having to exhaust their taxi squad on the trip, so Kirilloff would have seen some action. But the Twins felt the safe bet was to ensure he continued to play in simulation games in St. Paul along with some other up-and-coming players, including shortstop Nick Gordon.
Nelson Cruz played through a bone bruise on his right foot/ankle Wednesday after being hit by a pitch Tuesday. He still hit two home runs and limped around the bases, but Falvey was hopeful after a rest day, Cruz would be ready for Friday.
