Carlos Correa returned to the Minnesota Twins lineup on Monday after being sidelined for over two weeks.
The last time we saw Correa he was wincing in pain as he struck out looking against the Detroit Tigers. That was back on April 12th, and he needed to be placed on the IL a day later with what was eventually diagnosed as a right intercostal strain.
Correa returned on Monday to a much different team, one that had woken up offensively and won seven straight games. There was also one less player on the 26-man roster, as Austin Martin was sent down to St. Paul to make room for Correa's return.
Someone was going to need to be optioned, and there was some thought that Jose Miranda might be the one to vacat his roster spot. Decision makers for the Twins were not among those wondering, though, as there seems to have been a pretty clear reason why Martin drew the short straw.
Why did Twins send down Austin Martin over Jose Miranda?
After the move was made, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli addressed why it was Martin who was being optioned back to St. Paul and not Miranda.
It seems to have come down to a combination of position and fit in the lineup moving forward, as Miranda filling in at third for Royce Lewis has more impact than Martin in the outfield.
"His arm has been built up and able to handle playing third base more often than not. Early on, he really was only playing third, maximum, a couple of times a week while we were getting him into shape," Baldelli said.
This is more than the Twins simpley deciding which of the last guys to have been called up gets optioned, it's a massively important endorsement for Miranda.
It's hard to overstate just how disappinting Miranda was last season, as a combination of injuries and poor play seemingly boxed him out of an everyday role with the team. He started the season looking to be the starting third baseman but hit a miserable .211/.263/.303 in 40 games for the Twins. Meanwhile, his struggles were juxtoposed against the rise of Royce Lewis, and there were some doubts this offseason about how he might fit into Minnesota's future.
He parlayed a great Spring Training into an even better start at St. Paul and wound up back on the Twins roster on April 8th. Since then he's slashed .292/.320/.500 and looks much more like the guy who showed so much promise back in 2022.
Lewis is still the third baseman of the future, but Miranda is playing his way back into the mix and the Twins choosing him over Martin to remain on the roster cannot be overlooked.