What Does Ty France's Arrival Mean for José Miranda's Role With the 2025 Twins?

After being priced out of a reunion with beloved veteran first baseman Carlos Santana earlier this offseason, the Minnesota Twins have made a concerted effort to fortify the position on the margins, acquiring depth options Mickey Gasper (trade with the Boston Red Sox) and Mike Ford (MiLB contract) earlier this offseason. That trend continued Tuesday afternoon, when the organization shelled out some of its remaining financial resources, signing Ty France to a one-year, $1-million deal that will only be paid if he makes the team this spring. 

Acquired by the Seattle Mariners in 2020 as part of a trade package from the San Diego Padres, France excelled during his first two-and-a-half seasons in the Pacific Northwest, posting a combined 129 wRC+ over 1,357 plate appearances. Unfortunately, since the start of the 2023 season, the husky francophone (I don't know if he actually speaks French, but let's run with it) has a much less inspiring combined 99 wRC+ over 1,200 plate appearances. His offensive ineptitude reached a crisis point last summer, resulting in him posting a grim 65 wRC+ over 129 plate appearances from June through July. 

Seattle elected to part ways with France, sending him to the Cincinnati Reds for minor-league catcher Andruw Salcedo just days before the trade deadline. The then-29-year-old right-handed-hitting corner infielder did improve with the Reds. However, he still generated a below-average 82 wRC+ over 195 plate appearances. France has fallen from grace, causing him to go from being considered one of the most intriguing young first basemen in MLB to signing a non-guaranteed contract worth only $240,000 more than the league minimum in two-and-a-half seasons. 

Despite his recent struggles, Twins decision-makers elected to take a chance on the 30-year-old first baseman/designated hitter, hoping he can return to his pre-2023 form. Again, France's addition exists on the margins, meaning it won't affect the core of the team. That said, he could carve out extended opportunities at first base and designated hitter, meaning Edouard Julien and José Miranda could see fewer opportunities than they were expected to receive just a handful of days ago. However, the fact that Julien hits left-handed and can play second base (a trait neither France nor Miranda possesses) means he will presumably be able to carve out a role against right-handed starting pitching unimpacted by France. 

Miranda also possesses the ability to play a position France cannot, at this point: third base. Yet, as long as Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee stay healthy, other opportunities at the hot corner will be sparse. That being the case, France's addition will most significantly impact Miranda, as the two will compete for playing time at first base and designated hitter. The two will be able to coexist when the club faces left-handed starting pitchers, as one could play first base with the other being the designated hitter. Those opportunities will be limited, though, as facing a left-handed starting pitcher is an infrequent occurrence in today's game. 

Over his first 3,396 1/3 innings played at first base, France demonstrated league-average defense, netting -5 OAA over that stretch. However, he fell off a cliff last season defensively, generating -12 OAA over 1,105 innings. There is some reason to suspect last season was an outlier, and he is closer to the steadier force he was the previous three seasons. On the other hand, Miranda has netted just 698 innings at first base, yielding a similarly lackluster -4 OAA during that stretch. Both are underwhelming defensive options at first base, particularly considering Santana's Gold Glove-winning performance last season. Nevertheless, France netting 2,700 more innings at the position over his career could be enough reason for the club to provide him more opportunities to begin the season.

Debating whether France or Miranda will earn more playing time at first base is an exhausting quandary that could have been avoided, if ownership were just a tad more charitable and allowed the front office to sign Santana or another veteran like Josh Bell or Paul Goldschmidt. Unfortunately, that is not the reality we live in. Miranda is the better and more promising player. Yet, given his relative inexperience at first base and tendency to undergo extreme fluctuations in performance (likely caused by injury), the Twins could reasonably opt to provide France the bulk of opportunities over Miranda to begin the season. 

If France can rediscover any semblance of his pre-2023 form, he could quickly become the team's primary first baseman. In that case, Miranda would inhabit the same role he played last season, switching between designated hitter, first base, and third base on a game-to-game basis, depending on his performance and the availability of other corner infielders. The Twins front office and manager Rocco Baldelli highly value positional flexibility, meaning Miranda will still receive ample opportunity on the field and at the plate. Still, the acquisition of France likely stunts any plans of him becoming the team's full-time starting first baseman.