Twins 2023 Position Analysis: Third Base

[Nick Nelson]

The third base position has undergone an interesting journey for the Twins of late, from Josh Donaldson to Gio Urshela to José Miranda. Can the latter show enough defensive chops at the hot corner to halt the carousel?

Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

 

Projected Starter: José Miranda
Likely Backup: Kyle Farmer
Depth: Donovan Solano, Willi Castro, Elliot Soto
Prospects: Brooks Lee, Jose Salas, Austin Martin, Yunior Severino

THE GOOD
It already seems safe to say Miranda is either going to be a good hitter or a great hitter. The type of hitting prowess we've seen on display over the past two years doesn't happen by accident. His ability to mix huge pull power with a penchant for going the other way give him a balanced offensive attack that yields consistent results.

It's yet to be seen if the run-producing monster we saw in Miranda's scorching June and July as a rookie (.329/.373/.557) was more emblematic of what to expect than his pedestrian August and September (.261/.332/.378) but there's little question the kid is going to carry weight offensively.

Defense is another question. Miranda lacks the quickness, agility, and arm strength to be anything resembling a lock to stick at third, as we'll discuss. But he's hardly a lost cause there. He's got a good build for the position and made several slick plays at the hot corner in 2022. 

Even if he's not long for the position, Miranda provides crucial value to the Twins as long as he can hold his own at third, allowing the team to rotate additional quality bats through the first base and DH positions. This can provide a key competitive advantage that shows up in team results. 

Do we think it's a coincidence that of the top 10 individual finishers in wOBA at third base last year, nine were in the playoffs?

THE BAD
As a rookie, Miranda made only 27 starts at third base, compared to 69 at first base and another 20 at DH. That seems telling. It's not like the Twins were abundant in great third base options, giving 131 starts there to Gio Urshela, whom they liked enough to trade for nothing at season's end.

When he played third last year, Miranda looked pretty rough, and he's been unable to shake away that memory this spring, with a shoulder injury preventing him from playing the field. That's not considered a long-term concern, but the Twins were already contemplating backup options at third even before this flare-up. 

Though they let Urshela go, the Twins built out their depth at third considerably over the offseason, acquiring three infielders – Farmer, Solano, and Castro – with significant MLB experience. That said, any of those three would be an average-ish regular at best, so the Twins need to hope their gamble on Miranda pays off, at least for a while.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Down the line, it sure feels like this position is Lee's for the taking, which is why I have the Twins number one prospect listed in the pipeline picture here despite all of his pro reps thus far coming at shortstop. Martin or Royce Lewis could also be a factor here. Or maybe, eventually ... Carlos Correa?

The big question is how long Miranda will provide the luxury of waiting on those promising young infield talents, or Correa's eventual move off short. Will Miranda show enough improvement to convince the Twins he's viable, giving them a competitive edge in the lineup, or will they fall back on a steady-yet-unspectacular backup option?

Catch Up On Our Position Preview Series:

• Position Analysis: Catcher
• Position Analysis: First Base
• Position Analysis: Second Base

View full article

[Karbo]

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!

[Dman]

We have very little info to go on so I am interested to see how well he does at 3rd this year. He looks in better shape and the bat has been really good this spring. 

I think he can be a solid defender at third but as noted with Lewis and Lee coming up I am not sure how long they will keep him there.  If he keeps himself in good shape he should be able to be rotated to 3rd in the future it just seems given the future options he wouldn't be the primary option there. Just have to wait and see how he does. As mentioned above lot's of guys look rough at 3rd to start and get significantly better with time.  I hope he does well as it just allows the team to mix and match more effectively.

 

[mikelink45]

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

[Doctor Gast]

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.

[beckmt]

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.

[JD-TWINS]

25 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.

Completely agree!

Appears he got in really good shape - bummer he can’t throw.

Last year, even if we wanted to try and play Miranda at 3B, with a good chunk of the roster hurt, we needed to plug him at 1B or DH just to start 9 guys. Urshella was solid at 3B both offensively & defensively.

Farmer costs 1/2 of Urshella & is a former everyday SS & comfortable at 2B & 3B. Good exchange in the pursuit of positional depth!

Miranda’s arm is potentially just a Spring Training strain but he needs to heal soon. If Kirilof is healthy & if Miranda can’t throw effectively, the new 3B options will push him to DH & 1B platoons. If Lee/Lewis take over 3B in ‘24, Miranda has a slim future as a RH bat in our line-up. On paper, Larnach - Kirilof - Gordon - Walner - Julien all play ahead of him (as well as Buxton 30-40 games) at DH v. RH pitching (75% of games). Seems like there should always be room for a good bat on the roster - thought that about Luis A. as well.

[jmlease1]

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.

[farmerguychris]

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.

[saviking]

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

[Craig Arko]

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.

[Major League Ready]

42 minutes 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 defensively 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.

[Mike Sixel]

I have no idea if Miranda can play third or second or what. But I think he can hit, and I think he should get half a year at third to see what he can do. They played Urshela at third because that's all he could do well. And they replaced him because of that. Nick's way off on his statements there, imo.

If Miranda can't, then it's Lee's job. He's a future all star. 

[jmlease1]

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.

[umterp23]

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