• ESPN News Services

May 10, 2023, 11:20 AM ET

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    “Right when I went down, I remember just feeling my teeth covering my tongue in the back of my mouth,” Farmer told KARE Ch. 11 in Minneapolis when recounting the incident. “It’s kind of gruesome. I thought I was swallowing my four bottom teeth.

    “I felt the trainers come out, and they took me under and the first thing I said to them was that you have to get me to the hospital. So they did and got me there. … As they were wheeling me into the hospital, I could feel all of the eyes on me … and you know that look when they look at you and look down … I was like … I must look pretty bad.”

    He batted .308 with a homer and three RBIs during a four-game rehab assignment at Triple-A St. Paul. Before the injury, Farmer was batting .226 with one homer and five RBIs in 11 games for the Twins.

    Farmer told KARE that he’ll now be wearing a face guard on his helmet.

    “You’re going to get hit, but you just have to get back up and face the fear of not getting hit again,” Farmer said.

    Minnesota optioned third baseman Jose Miranda to St. Paul to clear a spot on its 26-man roster.

    Farmer played shortstop and second base before his injury, but the demotion of Miranda likely means he will fill in some at third base as well. The Twins also have Donovan Solano and Willi Castro on their bench to play the hot corner.

    Miranda had a strong rookie year in 2022 with 25 doubles, 15 home runs and 66 RBIs with a .268 batting average in 125 games while playing primarily at first base. This season, the 24-year-old from Puerto Rico is hitting just .220 in 35 games with a .593 OPS. He is 3 for 25 with no walks in seven games in May.

    “Certainly not the easiest of decisions,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Miranda. “But Jose, right now, I think is in a place where he could use a good resetting, both offensively and defensively, to find the best version of himself. We’ve seen this guy really good before. We know what he’s capable of.”

    Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.