Former Twins corner infielder José Miranda signs minor league deal with Padres
Former Twins corner infielder José Miranda and the San Diego Padres have agreed to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp in spring training, according to Just Baseball's Aram Leighton.
The Twins released Miranda in early November after he had a rough 2025 season. He began the year on the Twins' 26-man roster, but he was demoted after hitting .167/.167/.250 (13 OPS+) with one home run and five RBI in 12 games. The demotion came immediately after he committed a costly baserunning mistake.
Miranda struggled immensely upon being demoted to Triple-A St. Paul, hitting .195/.272/.296 with seven home runs and 28 RBI in 90 games to finish the season.
At one point, it seemed that Miranda would be a staple in the Twins' lineup for many years. He ranked as the Twins' No. 3 prospect at one point, and he hit .268/.325/.426 (114 OPS+) in 483 plate appearances during his rookie season (2022). He was demoted to Triple-A after a rough start to the 2023 campaign and suffered a season-ending injury in early July, about two weeks after being recalled to the majors.
Miranda had the best season of his career in 2024, posting 1.7 bWAR and a .284/.322/.441 (112 OPS+) slash line with nine homers, four triples, 28 doubles and 49 RBI. He notably tied the record for most hits in consecutive at-bats (12) on July 6, 2024.
Jose Miranda joins Johnny Kling (1902), Pinky Higgins (1938) and Walt Dropo (1952) as the only @MLB players to record a hit in 12 straight at-bats. pic.twitter.com/pw529FQkr4
— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) July 6, 2024
Miranda, 27, can play first and third base. Luis Arráez and Ryan O'Hearn played a lot of first base for the Padres this past season, and now that both are free agents, it's possible Miranda could play his way into San Diego's first base plans. He'll have to have a very strong spring training or impress early in the minors to make that happen.
If Miranda weren't a below-average defender, maybe the Twins would have held onto him for next season. Minnesota just doesn't have the roster space for a poor defender who cannot seem to hit Triple-A pitching, with a crowded infield that includes Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Luke Keaschall, Josh Bell, Kody Clemens, Kaelen Culpepper and more.