Twins’ Jose Miranda likely to start at third, but wants to be in the mix across the diamond

FORT MYERS, Fla. — His cousin is a Broadway actor, playwright and composer, so Jose Miranda knows something about encores.

He believes he’s ready to provide one now.

The Twins’ infielder (and cousin to Hamilton playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda) stepped in when Royce Lewis was injured on Opening Day of the 2024 season, and provided a reasonable facsimile of Lewis’ production during the two months he missed. Miranda batted .280 with nine doubles, six home runs and 20 RBI during those 44 games until Lewis’ June 4 return.

“It’s part of being a team. Things happen in this game, things we can’t control, and you have to be prepared,” Miranda said. “I felt ready, even before he got hurt.”

Same thing now. Miranda has been spending time at first base this spring, hoping for playing time when Lewis is in the lineup, either there or as designated hitter.

Suddenly, after Lewis suffered a strained left hamstring while running to first base on Sunday, Miranda figures to be manager Rocco Baldelli’s most frequent choice at third base for as long as Lewis is out.

“I love the challenge, and I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready,” Miranda said. “We have a strong lineup, and I want to help keep it that way.”

But he knows that challenge comes with an expiration date once Lewis’ hamstring heals. So Miranda plans to keep working at first base, hoping he convinces Baldelli to keep his bat in the lineup alongside Lewis.

“I want to be good at both positions. I know I’ll play more [at] third now, but I’ve got to keep practicing both,” Miranda said. “I’ve got to build my versatility, so I’ll be out there taking grounders and [errant] throws at first base, too.”

Bailey Ober’s velocity was down during his five-inning start at Hammond Stadium against the Tigers on Tuesday. Blame his height.

“I’ve been feeling a little off, timing-wise, so I’m trying to work out some kinks in my delivery,” Ober said after throwing 77 pitches, only five of which reached 90 mph, about 2 mph lower than his 2024 average fastball.

“It’s just all timing, and when I’m 6-9, it’s hard to get timing right. If one little thing is off, it kind of skews everything, whereas a normal-sized human might get away with it.”

Seems like Ober’s getting away with it just fine. He allowed just two hits in five shutout innings of the Twins’ eventual 6-5 loss, hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 Grapefruit League innings, and now owns a 1.59 ERA this spring.

Because he was facing a team the Twins will play 13 times this season, “I was just throwing the kitchen sink at them [to] try not to give away anything. I threw a lot of curveballs, probably the most curveballs I’ve ever thrown in a big-league game … and they were pretty good,” Ober said. “I had good results. Maybe it’s something I can lean into and use a little bit more.”