9:50am: The Twins announced that Farmer has been reinstated from the injured list, with Miranda indeed being optioned to St. Paul.
9:37am: Infielder Kyle Farmer is set to return to the Twins after missing roughly a month following a fastball to the jaw that required dental surgery, and La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports (via Twitter) that the Twins will open a spot on the roster by optioning third baseman Jose Miranda to Triple-A St. Paul.
Miranda, 24, was regarded as one of the sport’s top infield prospects prior to making his big league debut in 2022. He struggled immensely in the early portion of last year’s debut campaign but after a brief demotion to Triple-A, returned with a stout .286/.346/.451 batting line, 14 home runs and 20 doubles over his final 413 plate appearances. That looked to cement Miranda in the Twins’ long-term lineup — so much so that the club felt comfortable trading Gio Urshela this offseason as a means of clearing regular playing time for Miranda at the hot corner.
The 2023 season, however, has been a grind for Miranda. He’s taken 142 turns at the plate and thus far produced only a .220/.275/.318 batting line. His 16.2% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate are actually improvements over last year’s respective marks of 18% and 5.8%, but Miranda’s quality of contact has taken a dive. He’s seen his exit velocity and hard-hit rate both take a step back, and his ground-ball rate has spiked from 42.1% to 48.6%, which isn’t ideal for a player with below-average speed. He’s also popping up at a slightly higher clip in 2023 and making contact on pitches within the strike zone at an 85.8% rate — down from last year’s mark of 88.2%.
Aside from the spike in ground-balls, most of the dips in Miranda’s profile at the plate are relatively minor. But, taken in totality, it appears that a large number of small steps back have combined to suppress his production at the plate in the early stages of the season. The Twins, in all likelihood, will view this as an opportunity to give Miranda a mental reset over in St. Paul, with an eye toward getting him back on the big league roster sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, Farmer seems like the most obvious candidate to take up the mantle at third base, though utilitymen Willi Castro and Donovan Solano could also mix in at the position. The 32-year-old Farmer just went 4-for-13 with a homer and two doubles in a brief rehab assignment in St. Paul and is no stranger to the left side of the infield. He was the Reds’ primary shortstop in 2022 but also spent 299 innings at third base, drawing generally positive defensive marks at both positions while batting .255/.316/.386 in 583 plate appearances.
Farmer was off to a slow start in his first season with the Twins, batting .226/.286/.355 before that ill-placed fastball interrupted his season. However, in three prior seasons with Cincinnati, he turned in a .259/.316/.395 slash in just shy of 1200 plate appearances while doing plenty of damage against left-handed pitching — a glaring weakness so far for the 2023 version of the Twins (in part due to Farmer’s absence). The Twins have posted an awful .203/.280/.369 batting line against left-handed pitching this year, so if Farmer is able to play up to his typical standard (.286/.343/.487 versus lefties), he’ll provide a notable boost in that regard.
If Miranda isn’t able to right the ship in Triple-A, the Twins should soon have options beyond Farmer. Former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis is nearing a minor league rehab assignment and, as a shortstop who’s been displaced by Carlos Correa, would make a natural option. He’s on the mend from his second right ACL tear in as many years, so even in the absence of Correa, it was up for debate whether that pair of injuries would allow him to handle shortstop at a high level moving forward.
The 23-year-old Lewis will surely need a rehab stint of some length after a year off the field, but he batted .300/.317/.550 through his first 12 big league games last year. Behind him, the Twins have 2022 first-round pick Brooks Lee rapidly climbing the big league ladder; he’s out to a .290/.350/.458 start in Double-A Wichita.
Hello
You could learn from Miranda and exercise your right to remain silent
Actually Miranda didn’t remain silent, but sued that he had the right to not self incriminate. He won the lawsuit, hence the name Miranda rule.
“…optioning third baseman Jose Miranda to Triple-A St. Paul.”
I’ve never been to the Twin Cities. So is Miranda going like, two blocks? Three doors down? What?
Ha. I live in St. Paul. The two stadiums (and the two downtowns) are about 10 miles apart.
He’s a big guy, he can take the train door to door from Target Field to CHS Field.
Better do that mid day.
That’s a nice set up to have your AAA team 10 miles away.
I wonder if he gets a boatload of moving expense money, regardless.
Like when the Yank/Mets get per diem when they play each other at an ‘away’ game.
Actually, they had assigned him to Tarsus but something incredible happened on Damascus Rd.and he ended up in St. Paul.
He better call Saul.
):80
It must be so depressing to get optioned back to the minors as a player. Miranda appeared to have locked up a major league roster spot for years to come based on how he finished last season. Now it’s back to the AAA grind. Does his salary get reduced too or will he still be paid the league MLB minimum while in AAA?
I doubt his salary changes because he was demoted to AAA. There are several players making millions that were optioned to Triple A or DFA.
It can be complex, but in MOST cases your salary will TOTALLY change when you’re demoted to AAA; your NOT a major leaguer anymore when you’re in the minor leagues and unless your contract has SPECIFIC stipulations, you will receive MINOR LEAGUE pay. As I said it can be complex, so I’ll let others fill in the financial specifics.
A pre arb player that hasn’t signed any type of extension that’s optioned does make minor league pay. Pretty sure anyway
I didn’t want to write a manuscript but 98% of players who are optionable will receive MINOR LEAGUE pay, unless they have a CONTRACT that overrides this. A good example would be the White Sox’s Eloy Jimenez or Dbacks Corbin Carrol. If they were optioned, they’d receive MAJOR LEAGUE pay, because they have an existing GUARANTEED contract.
We must’ve both replied to Lamars at the same time:)
Thanks guys!
Stop YELLING
Dude relax.
Should they option the SS hitting .185?
OMG I did not realize how bad Correa is…yuck
72 WRC plus….just has to get better…..right..?
I was done following Correa’s downfall last year, but I just assumed he HAD TO BE playing better this year.
What a mess
“Heh heh heh heh…”
“HEH HEH HEH HEH!”
Houston TX Chamber of Commerce
Can’t justify poor 3B play with a slash like that.
Option Miranda, because Correa can’t be.
Will Royce Lewis play third when he comes back?
FO has been saying he’s going to get work at SS and 3B on his rehab stint. Unless Miranda forces the issue with his AAA play, Royce is probably the primary 3B by mid/late June. They’ve said they don’t plan to rush him back, even if he’s cruising in his MiLB stops.
I’m guessing Royce will be used in CF as the Twins have basically made it clear they view Buxton as a DH now.
should have traded him this winter when he had value. now all the world sees he has no position and really can’t hit major league pitching
Disagree. He learned how to hit better while at the alternate site in 2020 and carried that into 2021 and 2022. I feel he’s either hiding an injury or he needs to make some mechanical adjustments.
That would’ve been a bold win now move. Instead they went with the classic moneyball of trading the quality major leaguer, not saying Miranda isn’t quality, on an expiring contract
He’s 24, relax.
Some of last year’s top rookies are stinking up the joint this year.
And some are playing very well.
It sounds like baseball.
More like Carmen Miranda, amirite?
where in the world is Jose Miranda
Trading away Gio to make room for an unproven rookie (Miranda) was foolish from the get go. I said so and got attacked online by twins fans
Don’t sweat it, phantom.
You’re an easy target.
Lest we forget trading Arraez for Lopez which currently looks like a win-win, but Arraez hits like nobody’s business. You take that bat out of any MLB lineup, and you’re just not replacing that kinda production. I’m still surprised.
It wasn’t a trade, the Gio move was an “El Cheapo” give away.
Who is next to be sent down/over to St Paul?
Kepler = BA .213
Correa = BA ..185
Kirilloff = BA .200
Gallo = BA .189
Buxton = BA .233
Vasquez = BA .225
Gordon = .BA .155
Castro = BA .190
There goes just about every position player….
None of them can be sent down without them having the opportunity to choose FA. Being said, Gordon is on thin ice imo and Correa is a dirty cheat I wish they’d never signed in the first place. Started buying Brewers gear this Christmas
Miranda has always had the potential be a mirage in my opinion. A lot of the advanced metrics show Miranda as being lower/borderline on plate value guy like barrel rates, average exit velocity and plate discipline. He doesn’t have the speed or arm so his defensive value is pretty limited as well.
There’s still some upside there, too, though. It does seem like he has some of the tools which can make a great player.
Here’s hoping he can make the necessary adjustments in AAA and start tracking into a solid starter instead of the next Nomar Mazara type.