Twins infielder Jose Miranda, who’s been out greater than two months with an impingement in his proper shoulder, is headed for a pre-surgery session at present and anticipated to endure a surgical process tomorrow, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The Twins have but to make any form of formal announcement or disclose specifics on the forthcoming process, however they’ll certainly have an replace as soon as it’s been accomplished.
Miranda, 25, had a robust exhibiting as a rookie in 2022, ending his debut marketing campaign with a .268/.325/.426 batting line, 15 house runs and 25 doubles in 483 plate appearances. That features a woeful stretch on the plate throughout his preliminary name to the large leagues; Miranda posted a a lot heartier .286/.346/.451 line with 14 of his 15 lengthy balls in 413 journeys to the plate following a quick demotion to Triple-A.
That efficiency understandably locked Miranda right into a beginning job to start the 2023 season, however his manufacturing was a shell of his 2022 output. Miranda hit simply .220/.275/.318 earlier than being optioned to Triple-A St. Paul in mid-Might, and his .225/.326/.360 exhibiting within the minors following that demotion wasn’t significantly better. The Twins summoned Miranda again to the Majors in July when Royce Lewis was injured, however he went simply 1-for-10 earlier than touchdown on the injured checklist himself.
Given this yr’s pronounced drop-off in manufacturing and the revelation of a looming surgical procedure, it’s honest to wonder if Miranda was ever at 100% this season. Notably, he withdrew from the 2023 World Baseball Traditional as a consequence of shoulder discomfort early in spring coaching. The younger slugger was touted as a bat-first prospect all through his rise by way of the Twins’ system, scorching Double-A opponents at a .352/.413/.593 clip in 2021 earlier than transferring as much as Triple-A and hitting .343/.397/.563 in 80 video games at that degree. If this yr’s downturn did certainly stem from a balky shoulder, there’s hope for him to show issues round sooner or later.
Trying forward, nonetheless, Miranda’s position with the Twins is way cloudier than it was heading into the season. Lewis, the 2017 No. 1 general decide, returned from a second ACL tear in as a few years and has run with the third base job, slashing .306/.356/.528 with a dozen homers in 51 video games. He’s now batting .305/.349/.532 by way of his first 249 MLB plate appearances. Throughout the diamond, Alex Kirilloff has once more battled some accidents in 2023 however has produced properly when wholesome, hitting .266/.352/.430 in 270 plate appearances.
Miranda hasn’t performed a lot second base since his time within the low minors, however that spot is spoken for in Minnesota anyhow, with Twins stalwart Jorge Polanco hitting .260/.341/.461 this season. The Twins maintain a $10.5MM choice over Polanco that appears like a lock to be picked up. Minnesota can even be mixing rookie Edouard Julien in at second base, first base and designated hitter, after the burgeoning younger OBP machine has batted .273/.383/.457 with 12 homers and a gaudy 14.8% stroll fee in his first 338 MLB plate appearances.
Miranda nonetheless has a minor league choice remaining past the present season, so there’s time but for him to play his approach again into the group’s plans. However the Minnesota infield has change into far more crowded since that sturdy rookie season, with the emergence of Lewis and Julien, the return of Kirilloff and the re-signing of Carlos Correa on a six-year contract. Having a lot infield depth is clearly a great “drawback” for the Twins to have, however the elevated depth on the large league degree and this problematic shoulder harm each mar Miranda’s path again to a outstanding position at Goal Discipline. He’s nonetheless below membership management by way of the 2028 season.
