ROSTER MOVES: Daniel Duarte Placed on IL, José Miranda Recalled from St. Paul

[Theodore Tollefson]

Another Twins reliever is down with an injury, in righthander Daniel Duarte. With pitching depth very depleted, the Twins have called up José Miranda to join the active roster, and he'll start at the hot corner Monday night. 

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins have placed another pitcher on the injured list, as Daniel Duarte is now on the shelf for at least 15 days with a right triceps strain. To fill his spot on the active roster, infielder José Miranda has been recalled from St. Paul to make his 2024 debut with the Twins in the upcoming series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Miranda, 25, has played in seven of the Saints' eight games this season and has 7-for-28 at the plate, with one home run and three runs batted in. The call-up of Miranda has the Twins roster currently with 12 pitchers and 14 hitters, leaving seven relievers in an already depleted Twins bullpen.

While some argue this will leave them shorthanded in the bullpen, the Twins are scheduled to face three left-handed starters over the next week, including James Paxton for the Dodgers on Monday. In addition, lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar will begin his rehab assignment with the Saints this week, as they open up a six-game homestand against the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday. 

If all goes well in Thielbar’s rehab, he could join the Twins in time for their series in Baltimore that begins next Monday, April 15. The only other pitchers on the Twins' 40-man who are healthy at St. Paul are Brent Headrick and Simeon Woods Richardson, each of whom made starts for the Saints this weekend. They're unavailable for any relief role for the Twins until the middle of the week, at the earliest.

Whether it be Thielbar, Headrick or Woods Richardson called up when the Twins need their 13th arm next, this will leave Miranda and outfielder/second baseman Austin Martin as the two men on the roster most likely to be sent back to St. Paul as the corresponding move. 

Both players still have options left, making the decision easier for the Twins front office when the time calls for it. Martin and Miranda are starting against the Dodgers in Monday’s night game with the lefty Paxton on the mound. Martin has yet to collect his first MLB hit, but Miranda has mustered up a respectable .265 batting average and .774 OPS in 171 plate appearances against lefties in his career.

The most intriguing thing of note for Miranda is not where he’s hitting in the lineup, but where he’s playing in the field; third base. 

Twins fans and writers have been skeptical of Miranda playing at third with the Saints and Twins at all this year, but he already had a start at third with the Saints during their last series against the Nashville Sounds. Even with the majority of his time spent on the right side of the infield, he’s confident in his right shoulder health. He believes the skeptics will be proven wrong.

“I can play third right now, whenever they want me to,” Miranda said to reporters following Saints Opening Day on March 30. “I felt pretty comfortable at first. I was putting in the work, obviously down in Ft. Myers, I work a lot down there and they told me to get some work in with my shoulder.”

In the last week and a half, Miranda took everything one day at a time to get back to the majors. Now that the opportunity has opened up for him, he plans to show his 2022 rookie campaign isn’t a one-hit-wonder.

“Everyone that’s here at Triple-A is obviously so close to the big leagues. You want to be up there obviously, that’s the goal and I want to go up there and show [everyone] what I can do,” said Miranda.

Miranda will be playing in his first MLB game since July 9 on Monday night. He’s batting fifth, behind center fielder Byron Buxton. Duarte's prognosis isn't yet clear, but the team will need to walk an even more narrow tightrope on the pitching side for at least the next fortnight.

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[Azviking101]

It would be so nice if Miranda can hit and play third against those lefty starters at minimum. 
Castro is so bad from the right side and the other options aren’t any good 

[USAFChief]

5 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I give the Twins credit in that they are being aggressive in making changes.  Let's hope they are right.  Good luck to Jose Miranda!

??

Being aggressive? They had no bullpen option on the 40 man.

[bean5302]

I hope the Twins don't deploy Miranda the way they deployed Martin. I'd like to see Miranda getting every day playing time. It'll be interesting to see how the Twins go about it.

[roger]

Glad to see Martin finally get a chance to play.  What I don't understand is not playing AK.  He is the hottest hitter on the team and if memory serves, didn't he have a couple good at bats against lefties this past week?

[Patzky]

17 minutes ago, roger said:

Glad to see Martin finally get a chance to play.  What I don't understand is not playing AK.  He is the hottest hitter on the team and if memory serves, didn't he have a couple good at bats against lefties this past week?

I guess there aren't any scheduled days off in the near future.. all I can figure to keep him fresh. I'm sure he'll pinch hit at some point tonight.

[nicksaviking]

19 minutes ago, roger said:

Glad to see Martin finally get a chance to play.  What I don't understand is not playing AK.  He is the hottest hitter on the team and if memory serves, didn't he have a couple good at bats against lefties this past week?

Martin only got three plate appearances, he was pretty much only (foolishly) used as a pinch runner. If that's all they planned to do with him, Miranda would have been a better choice for promotion a week ago. Barring another injury, I'm guessing Martin goes down when Thielbar or the next reliever is brought into the fold.

I hope Miranda hits right out of the gate, but even if he doesn't, I hope the front office realizes the benefits of his reliable sub 20% strikeout rate and gives him a healthy leash.

[Jocko87]

We went from no longer an option at third base to get in there kid, real quick. Really hope he can hold his own, if he can be a solid stick and functional at third its great for the Twins and Jose.

[Tjwalsh65]

pinch hit AK in a key spot.

 

Edited April 8, 2024 by Tjwalsh65
confusing

[PDX Twin]

I'd love to see some comparative data on pitching injuries. Have the Twins had more than other teams over the last few years? Is it because they are pushing their pitchers too hard in terms of pitch speed, usage, or in other ways? It seems like the club has as many pitchers on IL as on the active roster.

[Elite Benchwarmer]

56 minutes ago, roger said:

Glad to see Martin finally get a chance to play.  What I don't understand is not playing AK.  He is the hottest hitter on the team and if memory serves, didn't he have a couple good at bats against lefties this past week?

AK and EJ will probably be in the game by the 7th inning.  The Twins are like a mediocre Little League Team - everyone gets to play!

[nicksaviking]

52 minutes ago, Elite Benchwarmer said:

AK and EJ will probably be in the game by the 7th inning.  The Twins are like a mediocre Little League Team - everyone gets to play!

Disagree.

Zero chance the Pohlad's spring for ice cream after the game.

[mikelink45]

Glad to see Miranda up, but this does confuse me - will he step in as a RP like Sano?

[Shaitan]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Martin only got three plate appearances, he was pretty much only (foolishly) used as a pinch runner. If that's all they planned to do with him, Miranda would have been a better choice for promotion a week ago. Barring another injury, I'm guessing Martin goes down when Thielbar or the next reliever is brought into the fold.

I hope Miranda hits right out of the gate, but even if he doesn't, I hope the front office realizes the benefits of his reliable sub 20% strikeout rate and gives him a healthy leash.

I think it's more about Castro. He hasn't played like a starting platoon player this year. If Miranda hits, Castro moves to UTIL, which forces Martin to AAA.

[D.C Twins]

Margon leadoff... woof (just checked live box score AFTER this and let's just say this take was already rotten on arrival :)

[DocBauer]

So it sounds like Thielbar will be throwing for St Paul next couple of days, maybe Tuesday. If all goes well, he should be up in 7-10 days. I'm guessing Martin goes down so he can play daily again. Really frustrated at how Martin has been used so far. My opinion is, if he's up, PLAY HIM.

Absolutely crazy to have 3 of your top 5 relievers out before the season begins, have Weiss on the IL already, then Staumont hurt...though he wasn't scheduled to make the initial roster...and now the surprisingly good Duarte down after 10 days.

Assuming Thielbar is up soon, I'm still wondering who's next in line if something happens? Could Duarte be back really soon? Do they have to make a 60 day move if someone else goes down? Up un5il tonight when Jackson allowed a pair of solo shots, the pen has still been pretty darn good so far in SSS. But it's going to be hard to withstand much more.

[TwinsDr2021]

11 hours ago, Shaitan said:

I think it's more about Castro. He hasn't played like a starting platoon player this year. If Miranda hits, Castro moves to UTIL, which forces Martin to AAA.

A utility guy forced into full time playing doesn't play well? Call me baffled.

I agree with your scenario.

[dex8425]

16 hours ago, PDX Twin said:

I'd love to see some comparative data on pitching injuries. Have the Twins had more than other teams over the last few years? Is it because they are pushing their pitchers too hard in terms of pitch speed, usage, or in other ways? It seems like the club has as many pitchers on IL as on the active roster.

Pitcher injuries are way up across MLB as a whole. Bieber done for the year. Gerrit Cole hurt. Strider done for the year. Eury Perez done for the year even after the Marlins babied him. Glasnow thinks it's related to the pitch clock, no sticky substances, and the emphasis on velo. Probably a lot of factors behind it, but it's certainly an issue especially as teams now refuse to pay top $ for free agent starters. 

https://theathletic.com/5325032/2024/03/08/elbow-injuries-mlb-pitchers/

https://www.si.com/mlb/2024/04/08/pitcher-injury-epidemic-tommy-john-surgery-velocity

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-response-pitcher-injuries-2024

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, dex8425 said:

Pitcher injuries are way up across MLB as a whole. Bieber done for the year. Gerrit Cole hurt. Strider done for the year. Eury Perez done for the year even after the Marlins babied him. Glasnow thinks it's related to the pitch clock, no sticky substances, and the emphasis on velo. Probably a lot of factors behind it, but it's certainly an issue especially as teams now refuse to pay top $ for free agent starters. 

https://theathletic.com/5325032/2024/03/08/elbow-injuries-mlb-pitchers/

https://www.si.com/mlb/2024/04/08/pitcher-injury-epidemic-tommy-john-surgery-velocity

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-response-pitcher-injuries-2024

Pitch clock not relevant based on current study data.
Velocity is absolutely proven to be the key factor in regard to elbow stress. Biomechanical studies have proven it.
There is still "sticky stuff." Rosin and sweat = very sticky. Tighter grips on the baseball does increase forearm stress.

Aaron Nola got 7 years and $172MM. Yoshinobu Yamamoto got 12 years and $325MM. There were a group of free agents this year who really overplayed their hands, IMHO.

All that said, find me the high school pitchers throwing 4-5 pitches these days that teams could draft if they wanted to. The standard starting pitching prospect these days has 3 pitches. The emphasis on developing pitchers even down into high school has been velocity to get drafted, velocity to succeed later. It used to be more focused on more quality pitches to keep hitters off balance, more command, control and deception to succeed.