O's Workout Dominican Phenom Sano

There is word from the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec that the Orioles worked out 16-year-old shortstop Miguel Angel Sano at their baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. Sano is reportedly garnering interest from a number of other clubs, with the Pittsburgh Pirates as the most enthusiastic suitor.

This is yet another subtle indication that the Andy MacPhail era is a marked change from the modus operandi of the various regimes that have overseen more than a decade of losing baseball in Baltimore. MacPhail has made it a priority to improve the O's dreadful international scouting department, both in Asia and Latin America. We have already begun to see the fruits of the former, as Japanese native Koji Uehara has been one of the club's most reliable starters on a staff filled with kids and upstarts. Sano could be the O's first major step forward in Latin America.