Juan Miranda defected from Cuba in 2004, signed with the Yankees for $2 million in 2006, and has been stuck in the minors ever since despite consistently putting up some pretty good numbers.
He may finally get an opportunity at age 29, as the Yankees have traded him to the Diamondbacks for pitching prospect Scott Allen.
Miranda has spent each of the past three seasons at Triple-A, hitting a combined .287 with a .374 on-base percentage and .481 slugging percentage in 301 games.
He’s never going to be a star, but with Adam LaRoche leaving as a free agent the left-handed-hitting Miranda could be plenty useful as a platoon first baseman who starts mostly against right-handed pitching and new Arizona general manager Kevin Towers was known for his success plucking similar players off the scrap heap in San Diego.
Allen was an 11th-round pick in 2009 and posted a mediocre 4.73 ERA in 16 starts at low Single-A this season, but his 79/22 K/BB ratio in 78 innings was very strong and at 18 years old he was very young for the level of competition. He’s not a top prospect, but from the Yankees’ point of view he certainly represents a good return for a player they were never going to use anyway.
