Sano eager to play right field for Twins

MINNEAPOLIS - When the Minnesota Twins start spring training later this month, Miguel Sano will trot his muscular frame out to right field for an audition at his new position.

It's not the ideal spot for Sano, but it's where the Twins have room for now. For the 22-year-old slugger to succeed in the transition, taking the right attitude might be just as important as the right glove.

So far, so good.

''All he wants to do is play,'' general manager Terry Ryan said during the team's annual fan festival, ''and he doesn't want to DH. He wants to play a defensive position, and this is the best fit for our club.''

Ryan wasn't interested in offering third baseman Trevor Plouffe in offseason trades, eliminating one place Sano could play. Joe Mauer is entrenched at first base, crossing another option off the list. Designated hitter was the natural spot for Sano to ease into major league action, but the Twins signed Korean star Byung Ho Park to largely fill that role. Manager Paul Molitor recommended to Ryan that Sano start in right field, allowing Eddie Rosario to stay in left field.

''I'm so really happy about the chance that Paul Molitor and Terry Ryan give me to be in the lineup,'' Sano said. ''If I need to play catcher or first base or whatever, I play, because I want to be in the lineup.''

The Twins want that just as badly, of course. Sano hit 18 home runs with a .916 OPS in 80 games as a rookie last year. Despite playing only half of 2015, Sano was voted the team's most valuable player by the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Listed at 6-foot-4, Sano said he lost about five pounds over the winter and currently weighs about 265 pounds.

''I don't want to lose more,'' he said. ''Don't lose the pop.''