Miguel Sanó signs contract with Japanese team after impressive Dominican League performance
Former Twins slugger Miguel Sanó is heading overseas to play in Japan, according to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. He signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball on Sunday.
Sanó last played in MLB with the Los Angeles Angels in 2024. He hit .205/.295/.313 (73 OPS+) with two home runs and six RBI over 95 plate appearances with Los Angeles during the 2024 campaign before being released mid-season.
Sanó impressed in the Dominican League this year, posting a 1.039 OPS with nine home runs over 24 games, which likely led to the Dragons' interest in the former Twins slugger.
feels like the annual miguel sano crushing the dominican league post but he’s now got 7 home runs in just 13 games pic.twitter.com/83TS23xnN4
— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) November 5, 2025
If Sanó can continue the success he had in the Dominican League in Japan, he could find himself on an MLB team again in the near future.
Sanó, who Minnesota signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, was once a highly regarded prospect in the Twins system, ranking as high as No. 4 overall in the game per MLB Pipeline.
Although Sanó made the American League All-Star team in 2017 and competed in the Home Run Derby, he never lived up to the Twins' expectations. In eight seasons with Minnesota, the corner infielder posted 8.1 bWAR and a .234/.326/.482 (116 OPS+) slash line with 162 homers. He was known to strike out a lot, as he struck out 1,042 times in 694 games as a member of the Twins.
Sanó's rookie season went well, as he was worth 2.3 bWAR with a .269/.385/.530 (149 OPS+) slash line in 80 games. He took a step back in 2016, posting a 108 OPS+ before his strong 2017 season. He had another down year in 2018, posting -0.4 bWAR in 71 games, before a strong 2019 campaign where he slashed .247/.346/.576 (139 OPS+) with 34 home runs and 79 RBI.
Sanó was a decent hitter with Minnesota in 2020 and 2021, but not good enough to make up for his poor defense. Due to left knee inflammation, he played in just 20 games with the Twins in 2022, posting an awful 2 OPS+ in 71 plate appearances. He didn't play in MLB in 2023 before signing with the Angels.