The Twins have signed JT Riddle to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Kim (via Twitter). Riddle spent last season with the Pirates.
Speculatively, Riddle could eventually help insure against the departure of free agent Marwin Gonzalez. Riddle plays all over the diamond, with his market advantage being capable glovework at both shortstop and centerfield. He has appeared at every position besides pitcher and catcher over his four year career, with a majority of his playing time coming up the middle.
Though he appeared in 23 games for the Pirates last season, the bulk of Riddle’s career was with the Marlins from 2017 to 2019. In total, Riddle owns a career triple slash of .222/.261/.355, just a 63 wRC+. Therein lies the rub for Riddle, as he has yet to come anywhere close to producing league-average offense. For his career, a 5.0 percent walk rate, 21.9 percent strikeout rate, and .133 isolated power mark all fall below league averages.
Riddle? What a puzzling move.
Lol. That pun was better than mine. Well done.
Fax me some halibut
St. Paul player, if he even makes the cut.
Couldn’t they have signed kike? Really confused… hopefully this is an extra extra depth move
Man his hitting is rough lol
With those stats it feels like a misnomer to call it “hitting”.
He may be bad, but at least he’s not injury riddled….
I’m a virgin if you couldn’t tell…
Riddle me this… Why has no one yet realized that JT Snow has got plastic surgery and now goes by JT Riddle?????????
Wouldn’t that be a crappy sci-fi movie? Dudes immortal and just wants to play baseball his whole life. But it doesn’t mean he’s got super powers. Hmmmm, someone feel free to get some fan fic rolling here!
Too complicated for Hollywood, they’re much more likely to do a ‘Ladybugs’ ‘Juwanna Mann’ baseball movie…I picture the plot being an aging mlb veteran gets cut in spring training, so to prolong his career he joins a professional women’s softball league by dressing up as a woman… It writes itself, he’ll fall in love with a female teammate, but she won’t know he’s man, they’ll be scene where someone discovers a jockstrap in his locker, and he’ll have to awkwardly wiggle his way out of that wacky situation… Another scene where he spits like man, maybe teaches the other women to spit too… It’s comedy gold, sprinkle a few famous mlb veterans in cameos playing themselves, like Pete Rose, or Reggie Jackson… I smell a hit!!!
20 years ago I’d agree. Not sure how that would get past the social media barrier nowadays!
Well I got me a fine life, got my old fiddle
When the sun’s coming up I got cakes on the griddle
Life ain’t nothing but a funny JT Riddle!
Thank God I’m a country boy
With apologies to John Denver
Riddle’s bat is definitely an enigma wrapped in a conundrum
Can play multiple positions but probably can’t out hit Ehire Adrianza so not really a good replacement for Marwin but a decent depth signing
Billy Hamilton said, “Rsox, give me a call!”
If all Hamilton had to do was play defense and run I’d be all for him. The fact that he has to actually swing the bat makes me say “no thank you”
Riddle me this, Riddle me that, who’s afraid of JT’s bat?
Nobody.
He is so bad the Pirates didn’t even want him.
And the Pirates will take any trash they can get! Ouch! Now that is a Riddle even the ?riddler? would love