MLB roundup: Rangers staff on Russell Wilson, Miguel Sano’s recovery timetable, Bill Buckner retires

Rangers manager Ron Washington told Heyman:

“He looked good, he looked real good. It’s in him, it’s in him. Baseball is definitely in him.”

Recently elected Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux tried to convince Wilson to show off his Pro Bowl arm on the mound, telling the NFL star he was “too smart to be position player.”

Although he made just 379 plate appearances in the minors and hit .228/.366/.342, Wilson left his mark with the scouts who saw him with his work ethic and drive. Heyman spoke with his former Single-A manager Joe Mikulik from his days with the Rockies about his chances at making the majors before he left for football stardom:

“He would have found a way.The last two, three weeks, he was showing more quality at-bats, driving the ball into gaps, cutting down on strikeouts to the point where you would say, ‘OK man, he’s getting it.’”

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“I could tell he was on a mission,”

Even if Wilson’s NFL career means he is no longer a true prospect, Rangers manager Ron Washington saw value in his visit to Rangers’ camp:

”The guy is a champion. “Anybody who is a champion has something to offer to every walk of life.”

Twins’ third base prospect Miguel Sano will miss the 2014 season as the result of an elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery. The powerful 20-year-old was ranked 9th on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list prior to 2013 season and he lived up to that hype by hitting 35 home runs between High-A and Double-A last season. Jesse from Twinkie Town had a chance to talk to Will Carroll, the Lead Writer for Sports Medicine at Bleacher Report about what Twins fans should expect concerning the intriguing youngster’s recovery.

Carroll laid out the major dates to watch for on Sano’s timeline:

“First would be the surgery date itself. Who’s doing it and do they find any additional damage in there? Second would be about three months in, when he begins to do some light throwing. Third would be four to five months in when they let him hit again. At the six month martk, he’ll likely be close to where he will end up, but the calendar will slow the pace some. There’s no need to have him back in September, so they can be very conservative.”

Carroll doesn’t see the injury impacting Sano at the plate long-term, but he does have some minor concerns::

The only issue I have is whether he can play third. He should be able to, but there’s very little in the way of precedent.

Baseball wasn’t always kind to William Joseph Buckner. He spent 22 years in the major leagues, won a batting title, made an All-Star team and received MVP votes in five seasons, but he will forever most closely associated with a single error he made on October 25, 1986.