LA Angels NRI Miguel Sano revealed he lost absurd amount of weight for 2024 comeback

The Angels may have gotten very lucky given how good Miguel Sano looks at the beginning of camp.

Eric Cole

Minnesota Twins v Milwaukee Brewers / Stacy Revere/GettyImages

When the Los Angeles Angels announced their non-roster invites list before spring training, most of the names were clearly just prospects that had little chance of making the club out of spring training, as well as a few fringe MLB guys just looking for a chance. However, one Angels' NRI that stood out like a sore thumb is Miguel Sano.

Fans may remember that Sano burst on to the scene with the Twins when he hit 18 homers in just 80 games his rookie season. He would go on to make the All-Star team in 2017 when he cracked 27 homers and posted an .857 OPS, finishing off a few very solid seasons in Minnesota.

Unfortunately, Sano's issues with strikeouts, as well as a knee injury in 2022, hurt his production dramatically, and he found himself let go by the Twins and unable to get a job in the big leagues at all for 2023. As it turns out, though, a recent development in his physique may have lured the Angels into signing him on a minor-league deal, which could end up being a steal if it works out.

LA Angels' Miguel Sano truly showed up to spring training in the best shape of his life

Given that Sano is a power hitter, his physique has, at times, been a bit on the big side. Baseball-Reference has his last listed weight as 272 pounds, which is a lot of weight for a baseball player to carry around with him. On the flip side, Sano showed up to Angels' camp slimmed down and in tremendous shape, with the slugger saying that he lost a whopping 58 pounds.

First things first, good for Sano. Regardless of how his comeback bid with the Angels turns out, getting himself in shape and healthy again, especially to this degree, is no small accomplishment. While there is a chance that losing all of that weight could sap his power a bit, he absolutely did the best thing he could to try and continue his career and stay healthy in the long-term.

Hoping that a weight loss binge will solve his hit tool questions may be asking a bit much, though. Carrying extra weight can certainly slow a guy's swing down, but Sano isn't exactly known for making the best swing decisions in the first place. He is going to have to alter his approach at the plate if he wants to realize any of his physical gains.

That said, this is a low-risk move with massive upside for the Angels. Sano can crush baseballs and, when he is right, he can crush them frequently. If he is anywhere close to the player he was early in his career, Sano could lengthen the Angels' lineup significantly and potentially make LA a very dangerous team in 2024.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.