His fielding is not worse , nor better, than the past; it will depend on how Baldelli values that.

He may stay and Kirilloff goes down.

I'd certainly prefer Kirilloff going down over Miranda. My top choice would be to DFA one of our negative WAR veterans but we all know that isn't happening

This has been discussed before & my answer is still. I was against adding anyone to 1B & having Miranda platoon against LHPs. I knew he would hit, that's where he should be. IMO it could be a good idea to have Miranda sub Lewis whenever he needs it even though Castro is a better 3B. But that situation will become less & less. He could pull some DH away from Jeffers & Buxton but the main focus again is 1B if Baldelli can pull Santana away from 1B. 

Agreed. I'd actually like to see Miranda become the every day 1B at some point in June, assuming Kirilloff goes down to AAA for a 4-6 week re-set. I think we need to find out if he can competently handle the position defensively, since his hitting gives hope of an above average bat going forward. I really would like to see the Twins trot out an infield of Miranda, Julien, Correa, and Lewis 4-5 days a week when Lewis comes back. Unfortunately, I think it's going to take an injury to Santana for that to happen. 

Well, first Lewis has to start rehab. So much can happen before the's back in MLB.

But I assume of the following, in no particular order

- another IF injury occurs

- Farmer is cut

- Kiriloff is demoted

- Miranda rotates between 3B/1B/DH

The only rationale to sending Miranda down would be if they believe he can be a long-term full-time 3B (which seems counter to Lewis on the roster). I don't see it happening unless there is some secret plan to move Lewis to a new position for 2025. Miranda is proving that he can have success while not "playing every day", which is vital for his ability to be a rotational/bench player.

Jose Miranda is a solid every day starting position player. The kind of 2.0-3.0 WAR guy who forms the backbone of a team depending on whether or not you have him at 1B or 3B. Unfortunately, the Twins brought in Carlos Santana and he's solidly entrenched at 1B.

I expect Kirilloff to be demoted, and Miranda to take over at DH even though I'd prefer to see Santana moved to a DH/bench role while Miranda gets every day time at 1B.

The smart money says Margot goes, Miranda stays.

What the Twins actually do will be inconceivable.

This is a perfect opportunity to dump Margot - but first the FO has to get past its own egos. 

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

This is a perfect opportunity to dump Margot - but first the FO has to get past its own egos. 

I understand that Margot has not performed anywhere near expectations so far but I also remember lamenting the fact that right around this time last year Donovan Solano was sitting on 5 RBI and he eventually became a key cog in the offense last year.

8 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

I understand that Margot has not performed anywhere near expectations so far but I also remember lamenting the fact that right around this time last year Donovan Solano was sitting on 5 RBI and he eventually became a key cog in the offense last year.

You have not convinced me - bring up Keirsey.

Best move would be to start Miranda at 1b and play him at 2b against lefties. Send Kiriloff down for a AAA reset if they won't drop Margot.

I could see Miranda take about half of the DH duties. Miranda can play the field 1-2 days a week, with him probably taking more time at first.

Nobody talking about Kiriloff playing outfield... This regime covets positional flexibility,  Miranda has earned the right to stay up for now.  My guess is there will be another injury between now and then that will help this decision when the time comes.  If not, anything is probably on the table.

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

You have not convinced me - bring up Keirsey.

I like Kiersey in exchange for Kirilloff for at least 3 weeks to give him some looks! Can’t see him displacing Margot nor Miranda.

2 hours ago, gman said:

I could see Miranda take about half of the DH duties. Miranda can play the field 1-2 days a week, with him probably taking more time at first.

Miranda would be Cuddyer-level bad at 2B.

There is a thread in the “Twins Talk” forum about Miranda that I authored. If I had known that this blog had generated conversation I would have made my comments there. 
 

That said, I don’t think 100 at bats cements Miranda as a bona fide major leaguer, much less a starter. He has very similar career stats to Alex Kirilloff, who is about 7 months older than he is. We’ve seen AK fall off the table and play injured and seen the same from Miranda.

I think the right move when Lewis is activated would be to send Kirilloff down, but I still am not convinced Miranda will become a solid major league regular.

As I wrote, Miranda doesn’t have big exit velocities or hard-hit rates. Further, he isn’t a great fielder at either first or third (low on the defensive spectrum) and doesn’t have great tools (foot speed and arm strength).

Most likely, Miranda will stay with the Twins and his performance has merited that. I think there’s a long way to go and he’ll get his chances and a lot will be determined by his performance in the rest of the season. 

On 5/22/2024 at 9:02 AM, RpR said:

His fielding is not worse , nor better, than the past; it will depend on how Baldelli values that.

He may stay and Kirilloff goes down.

I was going to say this.

For now, it makes sense to send Kirilloff down or to the IL (if his performance is at all health-related). The value of the veteran bench players will be, um, re-evaluated after the trade deadline, just like last year. If Lee, Martin, Wallner, Camargo, and/or Kirilloff are productive and healthy by July, then the whole veteran bench is questionable.

16 hours ago, stringer bell said:

There is a thread in the “Twins Talk” forum about Miranda that I authored. If I had known that this blog had generated conversation I would have made my comments there. 
 

That said, I don’t think 100 at bats cements Miranda as a bona fide major leaguer, much less a starter. He has very similar career stats to Alex Kirilloff, who is about 7 months older than he is. We’ve seen AK fall off the table and play injured and seen the same from Miranda.

I think the right move when Lewis is activated would be to send Kirilloff down, but I still am not convinced Miranda will become a solid major league regular.

As I wrote, Miranda doesn’t have big exit velocities or hard-hit rates. Further, he isn’t a great fielder at either first or third (low on the defensive spectrum) and doesn’t have great tools (foot speed and arm strength).

Most likely, Miranda will stay with the Twins and his performance has merited that. I think there’s a long way to go and he’ll get his chances and a lot will be determined by his performance in the rest of the season. 

I'm more bullish on Miranda than you, but I think this is a very fair take on where he is and what he needs to show. My view is that given regular playing time, he would develop into what I would call a solid MLB regular - a BA of .260-.290, with a SLG in the .420-.450 range, a SO percentage below 15%, and 15 – 20 homers a year with 20+ doubles, but a lower OPS since he doesn't talk a lot of walks, maybe in the .325 range. That would give him an OPS in the .740 – .770 range, an OPS+ in the 110-120 range. in other words, a solidly above average to good but not elite hitter with the downside of not giving you any speed on the base paths. You're right that he's not a great fielder, but he has improved to average and I think with work could be a little better than that. To me at least, that's a solid to above average MLB regular. This is the kind of guy that hits number 6 in the order, gets 500+ AB's year, and really provides the necessary kind of player you need around a core of three or four very good to excellent hitters. When you add in that he's only 25 but has had 750 at-bats to give us an inkling of what he is and could become, I actually think a .700 – .725 OPS is his floor at the MLB level and that there is at least a possibility he could develop into a high .700s to low .800s OPS guy for the next 5 to 7 years.

I think this is exactly the kind of guy we should be playing regularly and developing rather than hiring a veteran stopgap like Carlos Santana. You bring in the veteran stopgap in two circumstances, where you have a championship caliber team with a hole to fill or where you have a lousy team and a position with no younger guy coming up or one that's still pretty far away and you just want someone to hold down the position for a couple years and give you a semblance of competence. I think we can all agree we're not the second team. I don't think we're the first team either. I don't think the Twins have a championship caliber roster with just a couple of holes to fill in 1B and LF; I think we're a step behind that. We have about 75 to 80% of a championship roster but we need 2-3 more solid bats, 3 if were not going to keep Kepler after this season, 1 more mid-rotation or better starting pitcher, and 1 more strong late inning reliever preferably from the left side. I'm beginning to get optimistic that SWR and/or Paddack might be that starter. Who are going to be the 2 bats we need? I am still hopeful that Julien can be one of them, and I think the current player with the best chance of being the second one is José Miranda. I think Wallner is at this point a complete question mark and while I have more confidence in Kirilloff, he is really struggling and may also need a reset at AAA.

With all that said, I think this is why we need to keep Miranda at the MLB and play him almost every day even after Lewis comes back. To me, the injuries gave Miranda, Kirilloff, Margot, and Larnach a shot at a regular job that they otherwise would not have had. Miranda has grabbed the opportunity, Larnach has sort of done so, and Kirilloff and Margot have fumbled the ball. Easy call for me when Lewis is ready - either send down Kirilloff or DFA/trade for an A ball lottery ticket Margot. Miranda stays and gets 450+ plus ABs this year.   

24 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I'm more bullish on Miranda than you, but I think this is a very fair take on where he is and what he needs to show. My view is that given regular playing time, he would develop into what I would call a solid MLB regular - a BA of .260-.290, with a SLG in the .420-.450 range, a SO percentage below 15%, and 15 – 20 homers a year with 20+ doubles, but a lower OPS since he doesn't talk a lot of walks, maybe in the .325 range. That would give him an OPS in the .740 – .770 range, an OPS+ in the 110-120 range. in other words, a solidly above average to good but not elite hitter with the downside of not giving you any speed on the base paths. You're right that he's not a great fielder, but he has improved to average and I think with work could be a little better than that. To me at least, that's a solid to above average MLB regular. This is the kind of guy that hits number 6 in the order, gets 500+ AB's year, and really provides the necessary kind of player you need around a core of three or four very good to excellent hitters. When you add in that he's only 25 but has had 750 at-bats to give us an inkling of what he is and could become, I actually think a .700 – .725 OPS is his floor at the MLB level and that there is at least a possibility he could develop into a high .700s to low .800s OPS guy for the next 5 to 7 years.

I think this is exactly the kind of guy we should be playing regularly and developing rather than hiring a veteran stopgap like Carlos Santana. You bring in the veteran stopgap in two circumstances, where you have a championship caliber team with a hole to fill or where you have a lousy team and a position with no younger guy coming up or one that's still pretty far away and you just want someone to hold down the position for a couple years and give you a semblance of competence. I think we can all agree we're not the second team. I don't think we're the first team either. I don't think the Twins have a championship caliber roster with just a couple of holes to fill in 1B and LF; I think we're a step behind that. We have about 75 to 80% of a championship roster but we need 2-3 more solid bats, 3 if were not going to keep Kepler after this season, 1 more mid-rotation or better starting pitcher, and 1 more strong late inning reliever preferably from the left side. I'm beginning to get optimistic that SWR and/or Paddack might be that starter. Who are going to be the 2 bats we need? I am still hopeful that Julien can be one of them, and I think the current player with the best chance of being the second one is José Miranda. I think Wallner is at this point a complete question mark and while I have more confidence in Kirilloff, he is really struggling and may also need a reset at AAA.

With all that said, I think this is why we need to keep Miranda at the MLB and play him almost every day even after Lewis comes back. To me, the injuries gave Miranda, Kirilloff, Margot, and Larnach a shot at a regular job that they otherwise would not have had. Miranda has grabbed the opportunity, Larnach has sort of done so, and Kirilloff and Margot have fumbled the ball. Easy call for me when Lewis is ready - either send down Kirilloff or DFA/trade for an A ball lottery ticket Margot. Miranda stays and gets 450+ plus ABs this year.   

A very interesting and detailed expose of your view of the Twins rookies, but,  it also conveys you want the Twiins to be AA/AAA team for unproven rookies.

For the Twins, that has been a failure for the past 5 years.

I don't agree and maybe my post lacked clarity. For the Twins to be successful we need to blend established players with up and comers while developing those up and comers. I'd love to be a team that filled in holes with established veteran FAs but this ownership won't pay for that. I actually think we have the established vets supplemented by close to no doubt youngsters that could be the core of a championship team with Correa, Lewis, Buxton, Kepler, and Jeffers in the field, Castro as a UTL, Lopez, Ryan, and Ober in the rotation (with Paddack and SWR close), and Duran, Jax, plus Stewart when healthy as late inning relievers (with Staumont an intriguing possibility). That core can compete in the playoffs IF supplemented by solid to a little above average guys. In our case, that supplement needs to play 1B, LF, 2B, and DH, be another late inning reliever, and another mid-rotation starter. You can see the possible late innings guys in Stewart, Alcala, and maybe Staumont, with Paddack and/or SWR as the mid-rotation starter(s). The field regulars are the hole and Santana, Farmer, and Margot are not the answer. I don't think we can trade to fix this hole given the prospect cost or this FO's track record on trades.  

I think Julien and Miranda can help fill two the lineup holes, and I am cautiously optimistic that Larnach may actually be learning to hit breaking stuff to be a third fit. I also think that Santana and Margot are NOT part of the answer and in fact are in the way of us finding out if the young guys can be part of that answer.  This is the season to find out because the competition is getting better and the core vets are getting older.  

My idea is to (1) play Julien, Miranda, and Larnach basically every day, (2) Send Kirilloff to AAA for Keirsey (gotta have a backup CF and Castro and Margot aren't good enough), with Kirilloff hopefully finding it so he is available to replace one of the first 3 if and when they falter, (3) bring up Alcala (they did today) and make him a late inning guy only with Sands back in long man role he's actually kind of good at, (4) sit Santana and Margot as bench guys, defensive replacements, and/or 2 days a week guys against LH pitching (I would actually lose Margot). The key to me is to play Miranda, Julien, and Larnach 5 days a week for the next month at least or even better through the ASB to see if they can be the solid to above average regulars we need. Lee and hopefully Kirilloff or Wallner will then be available and hopefully hitting at AAA if those 3 can't hack it.  Do that now and we have the best chance of a team that is competitive with the big dogs in the second half. The current lineup is not.   

1 hour ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I don't agree and maybe my post lacked clarity. For the Tw

My idea is to (1) play Julien, Miranda, and Larnach basically every day, (2) Send Kirilloff to AAA for Keirsey (gotta have a backup CF and Castro and Margot aren't good enough), with Kirilloff hopefully finding it so he is available to replace one of the first 3 if and when they falter, (3) bring up Alcala (they did today) and make him a late inning guy only with Sands back in long man role he's actually kind of good at, (4) sit Santana and Margot as bench guys, defensive replacements, and/or 2 days a week guys against LH pitching (I would actually lose Margot). The key to me is to play Miranda, Julien, and Larnach 5 days a week for the next month at least or even better through the ASB to see if they can be the solid to above average regulars we need. Lee and hopefully Kirilloff or Wallner will then be available and hopefully hitting at AAA if those 3 can't hack it.  Do that now and we have the best chance of a team that is competitive with the big dogs in the second half. The current lineup is not.   

THAT IS, turning the Twins into a Minor League developement team.

Play them and hope for the best is a losers path.

15 hours ago, RpR said:

Play them and hope for the best is a losers path.

So is filling your roster with below average veterans.

Am I mistaken in that Larnach is playing with a foot injury? Is it possible they might delay the decision on who to move by placing him on the IL to let the foot recover?

Trade him while he looks good and maybe toss in Martin and get us some young low minors talent.