Miguel Sano

Miguel Ángel Jean Sanó (born May 11, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball third baseman for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on July 2, 2015.\n', ' Miguel Sanó was born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, to a poor Haitian and Cocolo family. He chose to play baseball with the name Sanó, his mother’s family name, rather than his father\'s, which is Jean, out of respect to the Dominican Republic. He was discovered at a young age, and worked with scouts to develop his talent. In early 2009, Major League Baseball conducted an age investigation, a prerequisite for every player signed in Latin America, that confirmed Sanó’s identity but could not verify his exact age. Sanó claimed to be 16 years old, but there had been rumors in the Dominican Republic that he was older. Twins then-general manager Bill Smith said, "Sanó’s age and identity have probably been scrutinized more than any player in the history of the Dominican Republic," and the issues and difficulties involved caused Sanó to lower his asking price from the $5–6 million bonus he was seeking when the international signing period first opened.\n', ' The Pittsburgh Pirates were the first team to offer Sanó a deal, and appeared to be his most ardent suitor, but negotiations were at a standstill after agent Rob Plummer rejected a $2.6 million offer from the team and their Director of Latin American Scouting, Rene Gayo. Sanó elected to sign with the Twins over many other teams. Besides the Pirates, the Cleveland Indians also expressed interest in Sanó, and even had him come to their academy in the Dominican Republic for a workout session. The Baltimore Orioles pursued Sanó for a short time, but believed his value was well below his $3 million price tag. Other interested teams included the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.\n', '