Minnesota intends for Sano to begin the season as the starting right fielder, GM Terry Ryan told MLB.com. "He's bought in," Ryan said. "But we've certainly asked that question. You have to be on board with it and he's on board."
Analysis:
Sano has been working on his outfield defense in his native Dominican Republic and the Twins say they'll bring Torii Hunter in as a special assistant in spring training to help him to learn the new position. It may have looked like a ploy to increase Trevor Plouffe's trade value early in the offseason, but Sano's move to the outfield looks set to happen with the Twins recently agreeing to a one-year, $7.25 million deal with Plouffe. Of course, Sano will still have to demonstrate he can play the outfield in spring training and not be a major liability on defense.