The San Diego Padres have moved on from an offseason addition just a few months into the 2026 season.Jose Miranda, who joined the Padres on a minor league deal in December, has been released by the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, per the MiLB.com transaction log.Miranda, 27, was competing for a roster spot in spring training. A couple months later, he's heading back to free agency.Jose Miranda Padres TenureMiranda was a breakout star in spring training, appearing in 22 games and hitting .304 with two home runs, nine runs batted in and an OPS of .907.It appeared Miranda had a real shot at breaking camp with the team, but ended up opening the season in Triple-A.“Miranda, from what he’s showing in spring training, can hit, can hit for power," manager Craig Stammen said during the spring. "And when you got a guy like that possibly sitting on your bench, you know, maybe, if they’ve got a lefty reliever that they want to bring in to face one of our lefties, we can throw Jose in there and he maybe pops a homer or two for us."Across 28 games for the Chihuahuas, Miranda slashed .268/.308/.482 with five home runs, 26 RBIs and an OPS of .790. His play didn't warrant him getting released, but with an opt-out in his contract, the team clearly didn't have any plans of promoting him to the active roster.Thus, he's been released to free agency.Jose Miranda Career TenureMiranda was initially drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of 2016 MLB Draft. He was ranked as a top 30 prospect in the organization from 2017-22, culminating in a No. 3 ranking in 2022. He was even ranked as a top 100 prospect in MLB that year.Miranda debuted in 2022, appearing in 125 games and hitting .268 with 15 home runs, 66 RBIs and an OPS of .751. After missing a majority of the 2023 season with an injury, he played in another 121 games in 2024, hitting .284 with nine home runs, 49 RBIs and an OPS of .763.Miranda then appeared in just 12 games with the Twins last year, and elected free agency at the end of the season. He hasn't been back in MLB since.Miranda was hoping to break camp with the Padres in the spring, or at the very least join the MLB club early in the year. Unfortunately, that opportunity never came, and Miranda will now look for his next MLB home."The only thing I can control right now is just going out there and having good at-bats and playing good defense," Miranda said to the San Diego Union-Tribune this spring. "Obviously, at the end of the day, they’re the ones that make decisions. Whatever they decide at the end, I’ll be happy because I put in my work and I feel good with what I’ve done.”It shouldn't be long before Miranda latches on with another team on a minor league deal. Then, he'll restart the process of trying to earn an MLB call-up.Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow