Juan

Miranda

Miranda stood only an outside shot of landing a bench job after batted .213/.315/.402 in 65 games last season for the Diamondbacks. He’ll serve as depth this year.

Miranda, 28, hit just .213/.315/.402 with seven home runs and 23 RBI in 65 games for the Diamondbacks in 2011 and didn’t do much in his time at Triple-A, either. He’s not a bad guy to have for depth purposes. Miranda will get a spring training invite, but it’s unlikely he’d have a real shot to win the first base job.

The move was made to clear room on Triple-A Durham’s roster for Brandon Allen. Miranda was batting a paltry .187/.307/.273 with two homers over 176 plate appearances at Durham this season.

He will give the team a much-needed left-handed bat following the loss of Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson to injuries. Miranda, 27, is hitting .260/.371/.438 with five home runs in 96 at-bats this season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It’s not clear who will be sent down to clear room.

As expected. Miranda, 27, was batting .260/.371/.438 with five home runs and 15 RBI over his first 96 at-bats at the Triple-A level this season. He’s not really a prospect at this point, but he’ll provide the Yankees with an another left-handed bat off the bench.

With Nick Johnson on the disabled list, Yankees manager Joe Girardi will use the designated hitter spot to give his star players a bit of a breather. The newly-recalled Juan Miranda will start at first base and bat seventh against Justin Verlander.

It will be four to six weeks before he’ll be able to pick up a bat again. “This is not a quick fix,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Expect Girardi to use a variety of players in the designated hitter spot in his lineup, such as Alex Rodriguez on Monday. Juan Miranda could get an extended look against right-handers.

Posada also missed Monday’s game due to a bruised foot that he suffered Sunday on a foul ball. He’s expected to return before the weekend. Outfielder Nick Swisher is also out Tuesday, with Juan Miranda DHing.

Miranda, who received a four-year, $2.07 million contract after defecting from Cuba, has done nothing so far that suggests he’ll have a future in the majors. He’s batting .236/.297/.379 as a 24-year-old (possibly) in the Florida State League.

In his first year after defecting from Cuba, Miranda hit .265/.350/.471 while splitting time between Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton this year. He’s at least 24, so he’ll have to do better to make it in the majors as a first baseman. Still, it’s entirely possible that we’ll see substantial progress in his second year in the U.S.