Miguel Sanó celebrates making Opening Day roster with massive HR in final spring game

The battle for the final spot on the Los Angeles Angels Opening Day roster came to a thunderous conclusion during the final spring game of the year. Non-roster invitee Miguel Sanó put an exclamation on his spring performance with a home run during the Angels exhibition contest with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Sanó will be part of the Angels roster when the Halos make the East Coast trip to see the defending AL East champion Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon. The former All-Star had agreed to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training during the offseason, and learned of his inclusion on the Angels Opening Day roster earlier this week.

Sanó is best known for his time with the Minnesota Twins organization. An All-Star first baseman in 2017, Sanó was out of the major leagues altogether in 2023. After losing an absurd amount of weight and slugging his way through the Cactus League, Sanó is back in the bigs. He does, however, have some big shoes to fill in LA.

Miguel Sanó celebrates making LA Angels Opening Day roster with HR in final spring game

The bulk of Sanó's playing time in 2024 will come as the Angels' designated hitter. The man who used to occupy that spot in the lineup was in the opposing dugout during Tuesday's spring game. Shohei Ohtani, who's embroiled in a controversy at the moment, signed a mega-deal with the Halos' "crosstown" rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sanó is not the two-way player that Ohtani is, but he packs plenty of power into his bat. During his major league career, the 30-year-old has 162 career big flies to go along with 418 RBI. Sanó has eclipsed 30 home runs in a season twice, and four times has surpassed 25 round trippers.

Sanó hit just .204 during 23 spring games this year, but still muscled four homers and recorded a .444 slugging percentage. With Sanó's addition to the Angels Opening Day roster, it would seem that manager Ron Washington will use Brandon Drury at various spots on the diamond rather than having him act exclusively as Los Angeles' DH.

So, yes, Angels fans can look forward to some power surges from the burly slugger.

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