Plouffe focused on his own improvement

MINNEAPOLIS -- Trevor Plouffe knows there's no sense in worrying about things he can't control.

So while Plouffe knows he'll be inundated with questions about top prospect Miguel Sano's impending arrival at third base -- which could come as soon as this upcoming season -- he doesn't worry much about it.

"I'm not really concerned with that," Plouffe said. "I want to help the team win. That's all I really care about. Miguel is a great player, and if he comes up and helps our team, we want him. We want anyone who can help the team."

Plouffe, 27, has actually befriended Sano and calls him, "Primo," which means cousin in Spanish. So there's no potential conflict between the two players, according to both Sano and Plouffe.

"I talk a lot to him," Sano said. "He talks about defense a lot. He said to be ready in Spring Training and work hard."

Plouffe spent the first two months of the offseason rehabbing his injured left wrist, which sapped his power in 2013. The third baseman hit 24 homers in 119 games in '12, but saw that number drop to 14 in 129 games last year.

Plouffe said he kept in constant contact with hitting coach Tom Brunansky this offseason, as the two spent their offseasons in Southern California. Plouffe trained at Pepperdine University in Malibu, and said he added 10 pounds to his frame, so he's now at 212 pounds.

But Plouffe refused to use his wrist as an excuse for his struggles last year, and he wants to add to his RBI total this season after hitting just .208 with runners in scoring position last year.

"That's my role in the lineup, to be a run producer," Plouffe said. "I haven't been able to do that. Runners in scoring position is something we need to work on. I talked to Bruno, and that's something that we're going to keep working on. I think that's the most important thing to me: being able to score runs and drive in runs."