In the midst of their search for a new manager, the Twins announced a rare mid-October roster move on Wednesday. They’ve claimed infielder Ryan Kreidler off of waivers from the Pirates.
Kreidler, who turns 28 next month, is a former fourth-round pick by the Tigers out of UCLA. The most notable thing about this waiver claim for Minnesota is that they’re adding a player who simply has not been able to hit Major League pitching thus far in his career.
Since making his MLB debut in September 2022, Kreidler has played in 89 games over four seasons for Detroit and has made 211 plate appearances. That’s not a big sample size, but it’s not a tiny one either. During that time, he’s gone 26 for 188 with a double and two home runs. That’s a .138 batting average, a .383 OPS, and an OPS+ of 11, relative to the league average of 100. Kreidler has struck out in 67 of those PAs (31.7 percent) and drawn 16 walks.
Again, not a huge sample size, but Kreidler has been one of the absolute worst hitters in baseball when he’s gotten opportunities over the past four years. Since 2000, there are 141 players who have had at least 200 plate appearances and recorded a sub-.400 OPS. 140 of them are pitchers. Kreidler is also on that list. The last position player to meet those benchmarks for an entire career is Brian Doyle, who played from 1978 to 1981.
Kreidler could obviously raise his OPS above .400 if he gets more big-league opportunities, but for now, he’s in rare statistical company.
So, what’s the upside case here? Kreidler is a solid, versatile defender who has played shortstop, third base, second base, and center field for the Tigers. He’s an above-average sprint speed athlete, although he’s been caught four times to go with seven career stolen bases. And he’s done at least some hitting in the minor leagues, where he has a career .743 OPS and 54 home runs in 467 games. Kreidler hit 22 homers and stole 15 bases in his first full professional season back in 2021. His career OPS in Triple-A alone is .771, which isn’t awful.
The Tigers waived Kreidler in August, and he was claimed by the Pirates. He finished the season with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A team in Indianapolis. Now he’s in Minnesota’s organization heading into 2026.
This is probably a harmless move from the Twins. Maybe Kreidler surprises with his bat next spring and makes the team as a bench piece. Maybe he never plays an inning for Minnesota. Still, a cost-cutting team like the Twins going scrap-heap diving to add a player with a career .138 batting average almost feels like satire.