Jose Miranda, primary position unknown, looking to earn regular role on Twins roster

BRADENTON, FLA. – Jose Miranda saw a first-pitch fastball in his first Grapefruit League at-bat of the spring Sunday, and he rocketed it back up the middle for a single.

When Miranda is healthy, he hits.

One of the intriguing questions facing the Twins is where Miranda will receive the bulk of his playing time. He could be the club’s primary designated hitter. He’s practicing at the corner infield positions, but Royce Lewis will be the everyday third baseman and Ty France will receive the first opportunity to start at first base.

“It’s a mental challenge more than anything else,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Where is he going to play most of the time? I can’t answer that. He’s going to be in that spot. He’s going to have to go out and earn his at-bats again like a number of guys on this roster.”

Miranda carried a .325 batting average through his first 255 at-bats last year with nine homers, 21 doubles and 43 RBI. He matched an MLB record with 12 hits in 12 consecutive at-bats in early July.

A low back strain, however, derailed his 2024 season. After a stint on the injured list that coincided with the All-Star break, he wasn’t the same hitter, batting .212 across his last 45 games with zero homers. Miranda says he wasn’t in pain when he returned, but the injury affected his mobility. Maybe he overcompensated for his back in his swing mechanics.

Despite positional uncertainty, the 26-year-old insists he isn’t worried. He has proven he can hit. He was the leading candidate to start at first base for most of the offseason, but he says France will help the club.

Miranda “has been up for every challenge,” Baldelli said. “One thing he’s done a nice job of, always, is he doesn’t get caught up in all the details. He doesn’t talk himself into issues when there are no issues. He knows he just has to keep working hard and produce when he gets those shots. And he’ll get some shots.”

The Twins dropped their first game in their Grapefruit League season Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park.

Travis Adams, who was added to the Twins’ 40-man roster in November, surrendered five hits and four runs in the seventh inning.

David Festa pitched two scoreless innings in his spring debut, striking out two, and Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano struck out three of the four batters he faced while hitting 97.5 mph with his fastball.

“You can see the swing and miss showing up a little bit already,” Baldelli said of Castellano. “That’s what you are looking for. If you have the opportunity to add really good arms like that, you take a shot when you think it’s the right time and the right guy. We don’t do that very often. It’s hard to carry Rule 5 players when you’re out there grinding it out for a season, but this guy fit the bill, so we’ll see what he can do.”

Kody Funderburk spent the winter working on his changeup, believing he was too predictable with his slider and cutter, but there was a big focus about how he thinks on the mound.

“Sometimes I pressed a little too hard or I set my expectations where if I didn’t achieve it, I was very hard on myself,” said Funderburk, who had a 6.49 ERA in 27 appearances last year. “When I do something good, making sure I acknowledge it, and not just focusing on the things I didn’t execute.”

Funderburk, the 6-4, 230-pound lefty, missed two months because of an oblique strain. Sitting in the dugout for many of the home games changed his perspective.

“I remember Bailey [Ober] after one of his starts where he absolutely shoved, he was just talking about how his self-talk was really, really good,” Funderburk said. “It made me realize I’m not talking to myself on the mound sometimes as nicely as I should. I just learned a lot last year. I tried pick guys’ brains and watched guys like Griffin [Jax], Joe [Ryan] and Bailey, how they attack guys, how aggressive they are and how confident they are.

“There is a difference between someone that looks confident and someone who is struggling a little bit. Talking with those guys and watching them helped a lot.”

Funderburk struck out two batters in his lone inning Sunday.