Pirates in holding pattern over Miguel Sano

Pirates, Twins, Orioles have made offers

Major League Baseball has continued their age and indentity investigation regarding top Dominican prospect Miguel Sano, which has put the Pirates in a holding pattern in trying to sign Sano.

If Sano is found to be lying about his age, he will receive an automatic one year suspension but the Pirates are confident that the situation will be resolved by the end of the week and they will be able to move forward in their pursuit of Sano.

It remains to be seen whether Sano will receive offers in excess of the $4.25 million Dominican pitcher Michael Ynoa received from the Oakland Athletics last year. That is the largest bonus ever given to a foreign amateur free agent.

Some scouts believe the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Sano is the best teenager from the Dominican Republic in more than a decade.

A scout from a major-league club who watched Sano work out in recent months told TIOPS Baseball Insider John Perrotto, “This guy is going to be a big-time hitter in the major leagues, a potential superstar, He’s a lot stronger than most Latin American kids and the ball jumps off his bat. He has other tools, too, but the bat is very special.”

With the investigation on-going, a bidding war has not begun for Sano's services. The Pirates have been hot after Sano for months and many Dominican insiders believe they have the edge because Latin American scouting coordinator Rene Guyo has forged a strong relationship with his family.

The Twins and Pirates have made offers in the