The timing of this move is odd on the surface. Even if the front office was planning to swap out Miranda for Lee, it would’ve been much cleaner to do so after Sunday’s game, once the Twins and Saints had both completed their respective series.
That’s how these things tend to go. Furthermore, Lee was still only four games into a rehab stint that many expected to run longer, given that his spring training was cut short.
Evidently, the Twins decided they could wait no longer to make a move on Miranda. And that’s hard to argue with.
It’s been a trying start to the season for the 26-year-old following a second-half fall off in 2024.
He’s had one big swing of the bat this season, running into a Spencer Arrighetti pitch for a three-run homer against Houston last Saturday, but is otherwise 5-for-35 (.143) with no extra base hits, no walks and 13 strikeouts. In the field he’s been a mess, often struggling to make fairly routine plays at third, which isn’t exactly out of character.
The April agony reached a crescendo on Saturday, after Miranda pinch-hit for Edouard Julien to lead off the eighth inning and managed a rare single.
Harrison Bader lined out to right, and then Christian Vázquez tapped a chopper to the first baseman, who fired to second to erase Miranda as the lead runner.
Except Tigers second baseman Colt Keith, who – due to positioning – had to make a weird play covering second from from the right side on a ball coming from first, was unable to find his footing at the bag and never stepped on it.
Miranda was called safe, but failed to notice, as he slid half-heartedly toward the base, never actually touched it, and turned (TOWARD the umpire making a very clear safe call, mind you) to start walking toward the dugout. Keith quickly noticed and tagged Miranda out.
Miranda’s mental lapse on Saturday felt less like a fluke and more like the culmination of all we’ve seen so far from him.
The Twins’ decision to option him immediately, even with Lee’s rehab still in progress, speaks volumes.
A reset in St. Paul could be what Miranda needs to regain confidence, clear his head, and start building back toward the reliable contributor the Twins still hope he can be.
Meanwhile, there will be an inordinate amount of pressure, fair or not, on the 24-year-old Lee to come in and give this team a spark.
He struggled mightily at the plate last year, posting a .585 OPS, and has played just four games (three at Triple-A, one at Single-A), since March 20th. But we know what he’s capable of at his best, and so there is some excitement in that.
Hopefully this trip back to the minors can help Miranda on his path back to being back at his best, because we know what he’s capable of too.
