Twins 2023 Position Analysis: Third Base

Too early to tell. History shows us some rough to start 3b that worked hard and became good to very good defensive 3b, so lets see what he can do. From all reports he works hard and takes coaching well, all good signs for the chance to improve. They certainly need his bat in the lineup, so give him a chance!

I expect him to do really well. Both with the bat and in the field. As he settles he's going to be hard to move and despite our love of versatility I know what we did to Sano. 

We didn't get rid of Urshela because we thought he wasn't good enough. It was because we needed someone who played a better SS & could play 3B which was Farmer. They also wanted to give Miranda a shot there to raise his asset here. I'm sure Miranda is excited to play 3B, I'm assuming his early shoulder problem could be from over doing it in the offseason. I hope Miranda can quickly get well to move to 3B, where I think he could play better.

With Lewis & Lee blocked at SS, Miranda's days at fulltime 3B are numbered. which he'd get more time at 1B/ DH.

39 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

We didn't get rid of Urshela because we thought he wasn't good enough. It was because we needed someone who played a better SS & could play 3B which was Farmer. They also wanted to give Miranda a shot there to raise his asset here. I'm sure Miranda is excited to play 3B, I'm assuming his early shoulder problem could be from over doing it in the offseason. I hope Miranda can quickly get well to move to 3B, where I think he could play better.

With Lewis & Lee blocked at SS, Miranda's days at fulltime 3B are numbered. which he'd get more time at 1B/ DH.

One other thought,  he is the type of player with a decent prospect that could pull a front line starter out of pitching rich Miami.  We have a lot of prospects who could play 3B.

I think there's a mischaracterization of why we gave Urshela 131 starts at 3B over locking Miranda in there. I'd say it's not because they didn't like Miranda at 3B, it's more because they didn't like Urshela anywhere but 3B. And they needed him in the lineup as one of the only healthy & consistent guys last year. but his lack of positional flexibility in the the Twins eyes (at least that's how it looks from my chair) is a big reason why they moved on from him and got Farmer, who can play a lot of different places. I was pro keeping Urshela, but I can understand how if he's shifting to a bench role and can only play 3B (or maybe 1B?) that he's much less attractive as a bench player.

For all the preemptive moaning about how "bad" Miranda's defense is...it actually was pretty solid in his limited time at 3B last season. He struggled at 1B, a position he'd basically never played before and clearly was uncertain of his play out there, which definitely led to some poor play. But I think he's showed enough that he can be right around average at 3B, and playing there consistently (especially next to someone like Correa, who will help him on positioning) will likely help him out.

The depth looks pretty good as well: Farmer or Solano shouldn't have any trouble backing up Miranda, though there would definitely be a drop-off offensively. Lee looks like the best fit to move in there from the system, so you hope there won't be a lengthy injury since Martin is out for a while (and his arm might not be the best fit there), Royce won't be back until midseason at least, and Julien has been pretty bad there when he's tried it and didn't play there at all last season. but there are a lot of options going forward for 3B.

I think Miranda holds down 3B this year. It'll be fun watching Brooks Lee try to push him off it.

Great opportunity to see what these coaches can do with young talent - I'm sure he wants to excel and be a great, long term solution at the hot corner.  Lets mold him into someone who can consistently make plays like the one in the highlight reel shown in the article.  Not all stars start out that way, some are made.

Miranda's bat will keep him in the lineup. He can DH and back up 3rd and 1st ..

I recall it took Corey Koskie a while to become a good 3rd baseman. Miranda can do this too. His current bum arm status may be the greater issue.

3 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I think there's a mischaracterization of why we gave Urshela 131 starts at 3B over locking Miranda in there. I'd say it's not because they didn't like Miranda at 3B, it's more because they didn't like Urshela anywhere but 3B. And they needed him in the lineup as one of the only healthy & consistent guys last year. but his lack of positional flexibility in the the Twins eyes (at least that's how it looks from my chair) is a big reason why they moved on from him and got Farmer, who can play a lot of different places. I was pro keeping Urshela, but I can understand how if he's shifting to a bench role and can only play 3B (or maybe 1B?) that he's much less attractive as a bench player.

For all the preemptive moaning about how "bad" Miranda's defense is...it actually was pretty solid in his limited time at 3B last season. He struggled at 1B, a position he'd basically never played before and clearly was uncertain of his play out there, which definitely led to some poor play. But I think he's showed enough that he can be right around average at 3B, and playing there consistently (especially next to someone like Correa, who will help him on positioning) will likely help him out.

The depth looks pretty good as well: Farmer or Solano shouldn't have any trouble backing up Miranda, though there would definitely be a drop-off offensively. Lee looks like the best fit to move in there from the system, so you hope there won't be a lengthy injury since Martin is out for a while (and his arm might not be the best fit there), Royce won't be back until midseason at least, and Julien has been pretty bad there when he's tried it and didn't play there at all last season. but there are a lot of options going forward for 3B.

I think Miranda holds down 3B this year. It'll be fun watching Brooks Lee try to push him off it.

I agree on Miranda's defense at 3B and that he was far worse at 1B.  He chased when he should have been going to the bag.  It was a small sample but I don't remember any errors at 3B that were costly.  He looked pretty average to me.  If his defense improves a little and the bat is as good as it appears to be, Miranda's chances to stay at 3B are better than he is getting here.   

The better scenario is he is good enough to hold down 3B and Lee takes over for Polanco at 2B.  Lewis plays all over the field 6 days a week.  Julien is DH/2B/1B with Gordon / Martin being super utility players.  That's a deep team for several years.

9 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

I recall it took Corey Koskie a while to become a good 3rd baseman. Miranda can do this too. His current bum arm status may be the greater issue.

Yeah, Koskie (much like Plouffe) had some adventures early on at 3B. At least a few times where I joked to a friend, "Is he using a glove or a frying pan out there?" But Koskie really worked at it and could have won a Gold Glove if not for Eric Chavez. I think Miranda has the drive to be great that will improve his defense.

Right now, nothing to judge him on really since he can't throw the ball.  Hopefully he is taking reps on fielding the ball with no throws to get further settled at the fielding piece.  Negative for me is sore arm for S/T.  We don't know what we will get until he truly is on the field.  Same for Buxton and Polanco.  Walking wounded and slow ramp up is not a spot to be in for anyone

If we're out of it in July, I expect to see Lee at 3rd and Miranda at 1st.  Hope Kiriloff makes me very, very wrong across the board.

Hard work and hand/eye and agility training can bring big improvements. Cory Koskie is a good example. A solid run producer just needs to be average at third.

To me....IMO he screams first baseman.

Miranda at third gives Killeroff an opportunity at 1B and keeps the DH open for players to rotate through and allows Lee to develop in the minors.  Eventually someone is getting moved.  And hopefully that trade is a good one.

In the grand scheme of things, Miranda may end up being the first baseman the Twins need, since there are no "hot" prospects on the horizon.

And the Twins have plenty of prospects to fulfill needs at second, shortstop or third base.

Question one is: will Correa be the shortstop for, say, at least four mroe seasons. If so, the Twins have plenty of guys to move elsewhere. Julien is the heir to Polanco, who may be playing his last season with the Twins. The Twins have high hopes for Lee, on the fast track (although the Twins could let Lee flounder in the minors for three more years and become the future shortstop at age 27 or something likethat). Lee is being touted as the best bet for third base.

Lewis and Martin are in the mix, most likey in the outfield, although there is talk of Martin being the supoer utility guy. Sadly, both may not see any major league action this year, which is not a biggie for Martin as he is not on the 40-man, but Lewis will have 1 1/2 years of service time basically spent on the IL list. 

Tanner Schobel may be on the fast track, too. And Jose Salas is a name to watch, both could be major league regulars by 2025 at the latest.

The Twins have hopes for Noah Miller, and behind him Bryan Acuna, at shortstop...and those two could easily follow Correa as the regulars in 4-5 seasons, spending a little time as backups on extended minor league play while in the minors.

Miranda will be like Sano, a guy who may eventually be more of a designated hitter, but can so play the field at both first base and third base.

But...if the Twins do wish to win, I wish they would take a guy and plant him somewhere and let him get comfortable...none of this rotating three guys thru first base (the first baseman adjusts to catching throws from three guys on the diamond on a regular basis). And also figure out if Miranda will bat 4th or 5thg, battes feed off of the guy batting ahead of them, and sets the plate for those behind.

A wrinkle in that Miranda was having throwing troubles coming into spring training. You got all off-season to show up in shape and ready to go in spring training (unlike the old days where you ahd to work a job during the off-season). Guys doing too much strength conditioning and not enough "playing baseball?" I ahd hoped a month with Correa was going to bring spectacular results to Miranda in 2023.

I'm more confident in Miranda playing a decent 3B than I am in Polanco playing a decent 2B. 

I am a bit confounded by the 3B position focusing so heavily on Miranda's "questionable" defense, while the 2B position didn't mention Polanco's ugly defense once🤔

Agreed on Urshela being moved, and why, for Farmer being added and Miranda playing his more natural position.

Just looking at Twins history, Gaetti, Koskie, and Plouffe all turned in to quality 1B with actual work. Nothing says Miranda can't and won't do the same. I don't doubt his want to or work ethic. I think his hard work this offseason shows that. And 3B is his most natural and experienced spot. With his bat, he doesn't have to be more than average defensively, but it's possible he will end up better than that.

I am in no hurry to actually move Miranda off of 3B. But I do believe Lee is going to be the long term player there as I just think he might be better than Miranda there. And that's not an indictment on Miranda, just a belief Lee might be even better. And I see Miranda playing both corner spots and DH to be in the lineup daily. But who knows? Maybe Lewis moves to the OF and Lee plays 2B and Miranda sticks at 3B. Not what I expect, but the future is unknown. But what a great "problem" to have, too many good players that you need to find a way to get them all in the lineup.

For NOW, I really like having Farmer as a quality depth piece. I THINK the Twins still have control of him for 2 more seasons. And while it's virtually impossible to predict 2024 and beyond, I like the option of his potentially sticking around for depth. 

I don't know what to think about Castro as a depth piece. I was really interested in him as a non roster signing. He doesn't have a future as a starter, for sure. And I'm just not going to fall in love with a non 40 man invite having a great ST. But not only is he a good athlete, with some speed and pop, and not only can he play all over the place, and not only is he potentially valuable as a switch hitter, but he's only 26yo. And isn't it generally accepted that Detroit is behind a lot of teams in regard to analytics and coaching? Might he be a late bloomer who has a role with the Twins at some point, maybe 2024, new team and new approach, where he might turn in to a nice utility option? Of course, I'm still looking at Helman as well, and Prato coming up as well. Just intriguing that there are a handful of "interesting", versatile athletes at St Paul this year that might step up to be solid bench options...similar to the development of Gordon...that might be part of 2024, if not fill in options in 2023 if a couple of injuries happen.