Can the Padres Fix Jose Miranda’s Broken Swing?

There are still many wondering what went wrong with Jose Miranda in 2025. He set a new MLB record just a year before, getting hits in 12 consecutive at-bats and putting up a respectable .284/.322/.441 slash line in 121 games. 

But in 2025, Miranda looked completely lost at the plate. He hit a measly 6-for-36 to start the season with the Minnesota Twins, and after he was sent down to Triple-A for the rest of the year, his numbers decreased to a .195/.272/.296 slash line with just seven home runs, and 28 RBI over 371 plate appearances with the St. Paul Saints.

When I spoke with Miranda for an end-of-season feature in September, he didn’t pinpoint one exact thing or another as the cause of his numbers taking a drastic drop; rather, his whole swing was off since the start of spring training. 

“I felt like it was a challenge throughout the whole year,” Miranda said about his swing. “A mix of not feeling comfortable with my setup, my stance, my move at times, that’s kind of been the biggest battle. I feel like that started since I got to spring. So it’s been just a battle of not hitting the ball the way I want to.”

So, how did Miranda plan to make adjustments and get back to form this offseason? His first step was reevaluating his whole body as a hitter and identifying the specific areas that felt off, which was much easier to do in the offseason, rather than halfway through the year. From there, he’d work with all of his people back home in Puerto Rico to help get him in better shape for the upcoming season. 

“I’m going to sit down with my people back home, the people that I always [work with], my trainers that I always work out with. All of those people, my trainer, my therapist, my nutritionist, and sit down and analyze and see some videos and start working. Start working from the get-go. Obviously, I always like to take time off, have a reset the first couple of weeks, and then start building off and get working the whole off-season,” Miranda said in September. 

Shortly after the MLB Postseason concluded, Miranda returned to game action, playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League for the first time since the 2020-21 offseason. His numbers there aren’t spectacular, but even in the small sample size of 99 plate appearances, there’s been a slight uptick in his numbers. All his slash line numbers have risen up from where they were in Triple-A this year, sitting at .230/.313/.333 with two home runs and eight RBI in 24 games for the Criollos de Caguas. 

Based on a video showing one of his two home runs hit in the PRWL this season, it appears Miranda is bringing his hand back a bit more before making his swing. He’s also not raising his front left foot before the swing as he was for much of 2025, and opting for a simple toe tap instead as his timing mechanism.

These are looking like helpful improvements for Miranda’s approach to the plate, and may be one of many reasons why the Padres opted to give him a minor-league deal for 2026. Miranda is still young and won’t turn 28 until June 29. He may not be the budding cornerstone player he was projected to be when he first came up with the Twins in 2022, but if the Padres can help him keep improving on the changes to his swing he’s made this offseason, then he can turn into a valuable corner infielder on their bench.

But Miranda will need to prove the effectiveness of his swing changes first, and will most likely start 2026 with Triple-A El Paso, barring no major injuries to the Padres' infielders currently on the 40-man roster. The Padres have already proven they can help a player with a broken swing in Gavin Sheets, as Peter Lubaza examined right before the holidays. Miranda getting the extra work in to show those changes sooner by playing in the PRWL should only benefit his chances of reemerging with the Friars.

Miranda may never have a season as he did in 2024 again, but if he can come close to replicating the numbers he had as a rookie in 2022 (.268/.325/.426 slash line, 15 home runs, 66 RBI), then his big league career will likely continue beyond 2026 with a chance for a major-league deal after the lockout. 

Despite all the trials and tribulations Miranda went through with his swing in 2025, he never lost his confidence in his abilities. The short sample size in the PRWL has helped reinforce it a bit, and hopefully, his opportunity with the Padres can help him build up his confidence as a player suited for the highest level of competition.

“My mind is always just keep grinding. Keep grinding no matter what happens. If I go 0-for-20, 0-for-50, I’ve just got to come the next day, put in the work, keep putting in the work, and trust the game. And trust that good things are going to come.”