The Minnesota Twins promoted first baseman Aaron Sabato for his MLB debut before Monday night's game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune's Bobby Nightengale. The Twins haven't officially announced the move.
Minnesota will need to clear space on the 28-man roster for Sabato, 27. The club will also need to make room on the 40-man roster. The Twins will likely transfer center fielder Byron Buxton to the 60-day injured list to solve the 40-man issue.
The Twins selected Sabato in the first round (No. 27 overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It took him a long time to reach Triple-A as a first-round college pick, finally getting there last season.
Sabato seemed like a clear bust after the 2024 season, as the first baseman posted an awful 83 wRC+ over 85 games with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge. However, he bounced back with a strong 2025 season with the Wind Surge, slashing .305/.399/.574 (165 wRC+) with nine home runs and 26 RBI over 39 games. Minnesota then promoted him to Triple-A, where he struggled with an 86 wRC+ in 2025.
Sabato had better luck with the Saints this year, hitting .273/.349/.528 (121 wRC+) with 25 home runs and 75 RBI over 113 games. One of the biggest flaws in Sabato's game is his tendency to strike out. Throughout his minor-league career, Sabato has a poor 29.7% strikeout rate. This year, he had a career-best 25.3% strikeout rate with the Saints, which isn't great, but it's much better than his career mark.
Does Aaron Sabato have a long-term future with the Twins?
It's doubtful that the Twins view Sabato as part of their long-term plans. Sure, he's put up strong numbers in Triple-A this year, but his high strikeout rate makes it hard to believe he can stay in the majors long term.
If the Twins couldn't easily move Buxton to the 60-day IL, there's a good chance that Sabato wouldn't have even earned a promotion to the majors, as Minnesota would have had to designate a player for assignment to make room for the first baseman.
Even though Sabato likely won't pan out in the majors, he at least deserves a shot at the big-league level after his strong season with the Saints.
The Twins have just six regular-season games remaining. After the Giants series, Minnesota will head home to finish the season with a three-game series against the Texas Rangers.
The first game of the Twins-Giants series is scheduled to begin at 8:45 p.m. CDT on Monday. Fans can watch the game on Twins.TV.
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