When the San Diego Padres signed Jose Miranda to a minor-league deal in December, the level of intrigue in response was tepid at best. A former top prospect of a certain pedigree with two separate years of success at the top level as a change-of-scenery candidate rung as similar to Gavin Sheets. But could the Padres capture lightning in a bottle twice after Sheets established himself as a key bat following multiple down years with the Chicago White Sox? If Miranda’s early returns in spring training are any indication, they just might.
While the story of Sheets didn’t quite reach the valleys on the performance front as that of Miranda, the context is somewhat similar. After two steady years of above-average play that bookended a brutal 2023, Miranda was woeful in 2025. He struck out over 36 percent of the time, didn’t walk once, and saw his power dissipate entirely across 36 plate appearances with a Minnesota Twins team that traded away as much of their roster as they could at the trade deadline. His Triple-A output wasn’t much better, as a .214 batting average on balls in play pinned him down to a wRC+ of 49 in 371 plate appearances with the St. Paul Saints. So, even for a team mired in a rebuild like the Twins, they didn’t feel he was worth giving another shot at either infield corner ahead of 2026.
Miranda caught on with San Diego on that non-guaranteed pact and has immediately produced during the exhibition season. As of this writing, he’s stepped to the plate 19 times, turned in a .412/.474/.765 line with a 15.8 percent strikeout rate against a 10.5 percent walk rate. He’s slugged a homer and a trio of doubles along the way. It’s a small sample, but gaudy numbers are gaudy numbers, especially this time of year.
The “issue” for the Padres is if Miranda continues this pace. With an already-existent glut of profiles that read as quite similar to Miranda, could they make room for him on the Opening Day roster even if they wanted to?
Miranda offers a bat at first base, third base, and designated hitter for the Padres. As of right now, the only of those three spots with a guaranteed body entrenched is third base featuring Manny Machado. As far as guaranteed contracts on the roster, the Padres figure to rotate Sheets, Nick Castellanos, and Miguel Andujar into those other two spots regularly. The latter two can fill in on the outfield grass occasionally, but with Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Ramón Laureano occupying the three spots, opportunities there may be sparse. However, given that at least two of those three names will have to be in the lineup on a given day, the Sheets-Castellanos-Andujar contingent will, technically, only count for one bench spot.
However, even one bench spot counts for a lot given how the rest of the reserves stand to shake out. Sung Mun Song will occupy a key role as a utility player, but without a clear path to a starting gig, someone’s on the bench in his stead as he moves around the diamond. Beyond Song, Luis Campusano has the inside track as the No. 2 gig behind the plate, and Bryce Johnson is the favorite as the fourth outfielder.
That’s a very murky picture for someone like Miranda, good as his spring has been thus far, to actually crack the roster barring an injury. Additionally, it’s difficult to see the Padres cutting someone from that mix in order to accommodate him. Let’s deal in hypotheticals for a moment, though.
An injury could put Miranda on the roster on its own. To a corner outfielder, you’ve got Andujar, Castellanos, and Sheets in tow capable of handling such a role over a short stint. In center, you’re looking at Laureano or Bryce Johnson, with Song sliding into regular duty wherever infield coverage may be needed. Either way, a lane would open up for Miranda in that case. Obviously, that’s not the ideal scenario, of course, so let’s talk about a pathway to the roster that doesn’t involve someone’s trip to the injured list.
The Padres need offensive upside from their bench. They’re not a team that is necessarily prioritizing defense. Johnson offers the least offensive upside of anyone currently in the group. He’s also out of options. Would the team part ways by way of a DFA for their lone three-position-capable outfielder if it meant further stocking up the bench with bats? In that case, you get Miranda on the roster with Laureano filling in in center field on occasion.
Should the Padres want Miranda on the roster to the point of executing that type of move, though?
That all depends on how the remainder of spring shakes out. If he keeps going this way, you’re not just talking about him on the roster, but supplanting either of Andujar or Castellanos as a right-handed hitter getting regular work on a corner or as the designated hitter. Then again, that develops a concern regarding the defensive limitations of that veteran-laden group.
Should he make the roster in someone like Johnson’s stead, you’d be looking at Miranda on either infield corner, Andujar at any of the four corners, and Sheets and Castellanos each at first and handling one side of the outfield apiece (the former in left and the latter in right). That leaves only Song up the middle, unless the Padres trust Jake Cronenworth to slide over to shortstop from the keystone on occasion. In those terms, it doesn’t seem as dire.
Of course, Miranda has to sustain his output before this is a conversation the team is willing to have. As muddled as it might make things if he does, it does appear that there are at least a couple of paths toward feasibly getting him on the Opening Day roster. Ultimately, it’d make for a good problem to have for the Padres in 2026.
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