The Detroit Tigers need a shortstop of the future.
Could Ryan Kreidler be the answer?
“I’ll continue to play there for as long as they’ll let me,” Kreidler said Friday.
Kreidler is arguably a pretty good shortstop. The 23-year-old, already an above-average defender, impressed offensively this past season in the minor leagues. He was linked with former first-round draft picks Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene often in 2021. All three were promoted in mid-August to Triple-A Toledo, just one step away from potential MLB debuts.
“When you get to Triple-A, it was a lot more of that up-and-down,” Kreidler said. “Guys are getting optioned, and you’re seeing guys go to the big leagues like once a week. It’s super, super exciting. It’s a welcome feeling, and I hope in the future that could be me.”
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Meanwhile, this offseason’s free-agent market features five premier shortstops: Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Marcus Semien and Javier Baez. They’re all seeking multi-year contracts and lucrative paydays.
Correa, 27, played for Tigers manager AJ Hinch for the first five of his seven seasons with the Houston Astros. He is the best free-agent shortstop available, based on his all-around game. In 2021, Correa combined elite offense (5.2 WAR with his bat alone) and defense (plus-21 Defensive Runs Saved) to produce his second All-Star appearance. Despite past injury troubles, he played in 148 games, hitting .279 with 26 home runs and carrying the Astros to the postseason for the fifth year in a row. Although Correa makes the most sense for the Tigers, he is likely seeking $300 million over at least seven years.
“I think it’s more broad-based than that,” Tigers general manager Al Avila said Oct. 5, when asked if shortstop was his top priority this winter. “One player is not going to determine everything. We have several needs.”
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Also just 27, Seager has the added appeal of hitting left-handed; his track record on offense is also arguably the strongest, with a career .297 average and .504 slugging percentage. He won National League Championship Series and World Series MVP awards in 2020 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Seager has durability concerns and might eventually move to third base because of his below-average defense. He was worth zero DRS in 2021.
Story, 28, hit just .251 last season but showcased elite power (24 homers) and solid defense (plus-9 DRS). He has struggled with strikeouts (27.6% strikeout rate) and making contact (.272 average) throughout his career. Playing six years for the Colorado Rockies, Story has hit .303 and slugged .603 in 375 career games at Coors Field. When not in Denver, though — in a total of 370 games — those numbers dropped to .241 and .442.
Semien, 31, leads MLB in WAR (15.4) since 2019 and crushed 45 home runs last year. He played an above-average second base in Toronto last season so the Blue Jays could develop Bo Bichette as a franchise shortstop, but there are no concerns about Semien’s defense at shortstop. (He had plus-11 DRS at second in 2021 and plus-7 DRS at shortstop over 2019’s full season.) A deal with Semien likely wouldn’t require as long of a commitment as Correa-Seager-Story, due to his age, but he’s still going to want a sizable average annual value.
Baez, 28, shifted from shortstop to second base upon joining the New York Mets in a July trade, but he is an above-average defender at both positions. (He finished with a whopping plus-31 DRS at shortstop in 2019, won the NL Gold Glove at that position in 2020 and was a Gold Glove finalist at second in 2018 .) He hit .299 for the Mets with a 28.5% strikeout rate in 47 games, after hitting .248 with a 36.3% strikeout rate in 91 games for the Chicago Cubs. Overall, he drew 26 walks and struck out 184 times in 138 games. Signing Baez would only makes sense if the Tigers think they can improve his plate discipline.
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And then, there’s Kreidler.
Should the Tigers completely pass on this winter’s shortstop market, drop a ton of cash on two starting pitchers and pray Kreidler matures into an elite defender with a serviceable offensive profile? For now, that seems to be the least likely option.
“I think the Tigers need to do whatever’s best for the team right now,” Kreidler said. “Whether or not that’s me, it’s their decision. All I can do is just keep playing, force their hand, and if we go get somebody this offseason, that’s great. Then that’s what we need to do, and I trust (GM Al Avila), AJ and everybody in the front office to make a good choice there.
“They’re not waiting around for me. They’re trying to win now. I appreciate that. That’s what you want as a player. If we go get a big shortstop, that’s awesome. I’ll change my game. I’ll adapt to fit whatever the need is. When we go get a guy, whether it’s a long-term deal or a short-term deal, I’ll just adapt, adjust and keep pushing.”
‘A sink-or-swim kind of thing’
Kreidler began his first full season as a professional in Double-A Erie.
He played for Short-Season A Connecticut after the Tigers drafted him No. 112 overall (fourth round) out of UCLA in 2019, hitting .232 with a .351 slugging percentage over 60 games. The minor leagues were canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Kreidler skipped past High-A in 2021.
As for his Double-A assignment, Kreidler wasn’t overly surprised. He went out to California following the 2019 season to visit Doug Latta, who also trains Jake Rogers, Derek Hill and Eric De La Rosa (who hit .273 last year in the minors) at the Ball Yard in Northridge, California, just 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
It was under Latta’s guidance that Kreidler adopted a new swing to boost his fly-ball rate.
“It was a huge change,” Kreidler said. “It was something I knew I had to do because ’19 didn’t go as well as I wanted it to offensively. I felt like I got exposed in some areas. Going into that offseason, I felt like it was a necessary change, a sink-or-swim kind of thing.”
Kreidler then cemented himself as a noteworthy prospect — alongside Torkelson and Greene — with his performance for Erie, hitting .256 with 15 home runs, 36 RBIs, 32 walks and 119 strikeouts over 88 games. His accomplishments — maintained by what Greene described as an “unbelievable” pregame routine — led to an Aug. 16 promotion to Triple-A Toledo.
“Kreidler, as much as he’s along for the ride and gets undersold, has had a tremendous second half. Now he’s going to get talked about,” Hinch said Aug. 17. “Is the swing-and-miss on the right-handed against right-handers a big deal? How good is the defense? When is a possible call-up?
“Those are all mental challenges these guys are going to have to deal with. It’s been a great story developing and got a lot of positive attention. Well, now comes some pressure with being one step away from the best level in the world.”
Kreidler continued to impress in a Mud Hens uniform.
He hit .304 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs, 24 walks and 39 strikeouts in 41 games, to go with a .519 slugging percentage. The addition of power has been one of Kreidler’s biggest revelations, as Torkelson praised him for being “strong as hell” in the weight room and possessing a “big-league approach” at the plate.
Kreidler played 129 games with Erie and Toledo, hitting .270 with a .454 slugging percentage, 45 extra-base hits, 22 home runs, 58 RBIs, 56 walks and 158 strikeouts. The only substantial concern: Kreidler had a 30.7% strikeout rate in Double-A, then a 24.1% strikeout rate in Triple-A.
“I went into it with a nothing-to-lose mindset,” Kreidler said. “I felt like it was a win, getting up there (to Toledo). It was an exciting challenge. I didn’t feel any pressure. I just felt like the organization wanted to push us. … You just try to capitalize on those chances.”
‘You trust him’
There seems to be no doubt about Kreidler’s defense.
That’s why, before he hit consistently in the minors, the Tigers viewed the 6-foot-4 shortstop as a potential big-league utility infielder. A utility role could still be in his future, only because he still has a lot to prove offensively, but his defense should get him to the majors.
“He knows himself as a player, and it’s really contagious when he brings it onto the field,” Torkelson said Aug. 17. “And you trust him. That’s one thing you want in a shortstop. You want to trust him. You want to play with him. I really enjoyed playing third base next to him because he takes charge.”
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On the same August day, Greene gave his assessment: “He’s a really good defender. He makes all the plays and makes all the really good plays, too. He makes them look easy. He’s definitely a pure shortstop. He takes control of the infield and is really good at what he does.”
Kreidler has played shortstop (381 games), third base (116 games) and second base (two games) across his collegiate, professional and fall-league career. He owns a career .968 fielding percentage in the minor leagues and has trained with Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell.
He most recently started at second base for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. Three games into the fall campaign, Kreidler suffered a left calf strain, so the Tigers removed him from the roster. (He is currently rehabbing in Arizona and hopes to return before the season ends in two weeks.)
Despite a taste of second base, Kreidler believes he is a shortstop.
“I really pride myself on game management, baseball IQ and knowing the game,” Kreidler said. “Playing shortstop allows me to use more of that. One strength I bring to the table is being able to play short, and I’m going to try to do that for as long as I can. Nowadays, you’re seeing Correa (6-4), Seager (6-4) and (Manny) Machado (6-3) — all these tall guys — playing short, so I don’t think it’s too far-fetched for a guy my size to play it.”
Now that Kreidler is hitting better, he is on the Tigers’ radar as a starting infielder, whether he ends up at shortstop, second base or third base. Kreidler still needs development in Toledo, but he isn’t likely more than a year away from showing his face at Comerica Park.
Combining all three positions would make Kreidler the type of versatile infielder Hinch desires on his roster, which would speed his way to the majors, even if the Tigers ink a top-tier shortstop this offseason.
But whatever happens this winter, Kreidler just wants to reach the big leagues and win.
“I’m thankful to even be in the conversation,” Kreidler said. “I’m going to keep forcing their hand. Whatever I can do to get on the field up there is what I’ll do, whether that’s at shortstop or elsewhere. If they want me to be a utility guy or play anywhere, I’ll do that. I’m going to try to work on those things this offseason, whether that’s moving around the infield or continuing to refine my defense at shortstop.
“But yeah, it’s a cool situation to be in, because that means the Tigers are trying to win. That’s where we want to be, and I’m glad they’re making the moves to mirror that.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.