Twins third baseman Miguel Sano was involved in a traffic altercation with a police officer in the Dominican Republic early Sunday morning, according to newspaper reports in that country, and was detained at a police station.
The report, in the Spanish-language El Nuevo Diario, said the police officer suffered a fractured left leg in the incident and is being hospitalized. According to a translation of the newspaper's story, the officer "ordered Sano to stop at a checkpoint, but he continued (and) ran over the uniformed officer, leaving him with serious damage." The story included a photo of the officer in the hospital, his left leg in a cast.
Another news website, Diario Libre, said Sano had been arrested, but was released, with the help of lawyers, after promising to return Monday morning. Diario Libre said Sano "expressed willingness to ... pay for medical and recovery expenses (for) Angel Guillandrex Gil," the officer injured in the incident.
A police report circulated online said Sano and his wife were stopped, in a vehicle without license plates, shortly after leaving a nightclub in Sano's hometown of San Pedro de Macoris. As Sano attempted to leave, he ran over the officer's foot, the document said, resulting in a fractured fibula and tibia.
Sano, 25, returned to the Dominican Republic after the Twins' season ended last Sunday. He played only once after suffering a knee injury Sept. 4, closing a disappointing 2018 season with a .199 average, 13 home runs and 115 strikeouts in 71 games.
The Twins have been made aware of the situation, a team spokesman said, but declined to comment beyond saying "we are still gathering information."
