Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano is set to make his 2019 debut after missing the first quarter of the season when he was injured celebrating a winter league title, while the team put breakout catcher Mitch Garver on the injured list following Tuesday’s collision with Shohei Ohtani.
The Twins announced Wednesday that Sano was being reinstated from the IL due to his right heel laceration. He had cut his foot falling down metal steps while celebrating a winter league championship in the Dominican Republic, and the injury required surgery.
Garver was placed on the 10-day IL with a high left ankle sprain, which opened a roster spot for Sano, who had missed all of spring training.
The 28-year-old Garver was injured while tagging out the Los Angeles Angels‘ Ohtani in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 4-3 win. Garver took in a throw from Byron Buxton at the plate and applied the tag on Ohtani, then had to be helped off the field without putting weight on his left leg. Garver’s foot twisted awkwardly as Ohtani slid into his leg. He was replaced the next inning by Jason Castro.
Garver is hitting .329 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs for the Twins this season.
Sano, 26, played 10 minor league games to get ready for his major league return and hit .316 with two home runs and nine RBIs across Class A Fort Myers, Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Rochester. He hit .199 with 13 homers in 71 games with Minnesota last season, then focused on improving his conditioning in the offseason after injuries hampered his production.
He is not in the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Angels.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.