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Ryan Kreidler

Tigers To Select Ryan Kreidler, Recall Spencer Torkelson

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The Tigers are planning to select infield prospect Ryan Kreidler onto the major league roster tomorrow, relays Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). First baseman Spencer Torkelson will also be recalled from Triple-A Toledo, seemingly filling the two vacant active roster spots associated with the September expansion from 26 to 28 players. Detroit technically needs to create a 40-man roster vacancy for Kreidler, but they can do so by transferring Austin Meadows to the 60-day injured list without affecting his eligibility timeline.

Kreidler is one of the better prospects in the Detroit organization. A fourth-round pick from UCLA in 2019, the 6’4″ infielder spent his draft year in short season ball. After the canceled 2020 minor league campaign, he was bumped to Double-A Erie in 2021. Kreidler performed well over 88 games there before mashing following a late-season bump to Triple-A Toledo. He entered 2022 among the top 11 farmhands in the system according to each of Baseball America, FanGraphs and Keith Law of the Athletic.

After the impressive late-season run in the upper minors, Kreidler looked like a candidate to factor into the MLB mix early this year. He broke his right hand in April, though, an injury that cost him six weeks of action. By the time he was healthy again in early June, the Tigers had fallen well out of the potential playoff mix, and they elected to give Kreidler a longer run in Toledo. He’s played in 55 games there this year, hitting .218/.359/.421 with a robust 14.7% walk rate but a worrisome 29% strikeout percentage.

During their midseason re-rank of the Detroit system, BA slotted Kreidler eighth. The outlet raises concerns about his propensity for whiffs but praises his defense all around the infield and solid power upside. The 24-year-old has played primarily shortstop in the minors, although he seems likelier to factor in at second or third base down the stretch with Javier Báez entrenched at short. Jeimer Candelario has underwhelmed at the hot corner all season, while the Tigers have turned to utilityman Willi Castro at the keystone with Jonathan Schoop on the injured list.

Kreidler would’ve needed to occupy a 40-man roster spot this offseason if the Tigers didn’t want to make him available in the Rule 5 draft. They’ll take advantage of the expanded active rosters to get a look at him a few weeks earlier than necessary. With the club’s attention squarely turned to 2023 at this point, there’s an opportunity for Kreidler to try to get off on a strong foot as he looks to carve out a spot next season.

Torkelson is already on the 40-man roster, of course. He broke camp as the team’s primary first baseman. The former first overall pick and consensus top prospect had hit very well in the minor leagues, and the club justifiably felt he could carry that over against MLB pitching. That hasn’t happened yet, as Torkelson owns a .197/.282/.295 line with only five home runs through 298 plate appearances.

After three months of struggles, the Tigers optioned the 23-year-old back to Toledo in mid-July. He’s hit .228/.347/.394 with five longballs in 34 games since then. That’s obviously far better than his first crack against major league arms, but it’s still well shy of the .238/.350/.531 mark he posted there late last season — particularly from a power perspective.

Torkelson is still a key piece of the future in Detroit, even if his initial MLB look was underwhelming. Manager A.J. Hinch seems likely to pencil him back in as the everyday first baseman for the final five weeks, with Torkelson trying to establish himself as the favorite for that job coming out of camp next year. He spent enough time on his optional stint that he won’t accrue a full year of MLB service this season, so Torkelson will be under club control through at least 2028.

Quick Hits: Musgrove, Alford, Kreidler, Arenado

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The Padres and Joe Musgrove remain far apart in their potential extension talks. The latest offer from San Diego was reportedly in the ballpark of an eight-year deal with an $11MM AAV, per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal. The length of the deal is somewhat surprising for the 29-year-old Musgrove, though the overall value is probably south of what the righty is seeking. Musgrove was arguably the Friars’ most reliable starter last season, tossing 181 1/3 innings with a 3.18 ERA/3.70 FIP, 27.1% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate, and 43.5% groundball rate. He is a free agent at the end of the year.

  • Outfielder Anthony Alford has cleared waivers and joined the Pirates Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis, per Jason Mackey of PG Sports Now (via Twitter). Alford has appeared in the Majors in each season going back to 2017, including this one. The 27-year-old went 1-4 in two games. He made 148 plate appearances last season, a career high, slashing .233/.311/.406, good for a 93 wRC+. Alford’s ability to man all three outfield spots could be a factor in finding his way back to the bigs, either for the Pirates or elsewhere later in the season.
  • Tigers prospect Ryan Kreidler suffered a right hand fracture that will knock the Triple-A infielder out indefinitely, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The 24-year-old had yet to make his Major League debut, though with a .246/.346/.462 line through 78 plate appearances in Triple-A, he was on his way.
  • Nolan Arenado was able to cut his suspension from two games down to one, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo (via Twitter). He will serve the suspension today, per MLB.com’s John Denton (via Twitter). The Cardinals third baseman was suspended for his part in a bench-clearing brawl with the Mets. The tiff was sparked by a high-and-tight fastball on Arenado from Yoan Lopez.

 

AL Notes: Glasnow, Astros, Kreidler, Canterino

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In the latest step of Tyler Glasnow’s recovery from Tommy John surgery, the Rays right-hander has started throwing, agent Joel Wolfe told Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.  Glasnow underwent his surgery in early August, so while it’s very up in the air as to whether or not he’ll be able to make it back to action before the 2022 season is out, he is setting an in-season return as his goal.  Beyond just his health, the other question concerning Glasnow is whether or not he’d be returning to the mound in a Rays uniform — projected for a $5.8MM salary this year, Glasnow has been widely speculated as a trade candidate for a Tampa club that is forever looking to manage its payroll.

Some other tidbits from around the American League…

  • “Position addition” is the name for the Astros’ process of experimenting with its most athletic prospects at various other positions, The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome writes.  Naturally, the more versatile a player is, the better his chances at reaching the majors in some kind of role.  “It always depends on what the major league roster is going to look like in the future, but I think it just raises a lot of those guys’ floors,” Astros field coordinator Jason Bell said.  “I think our guys have been fairly open to it…and I think a lot of times they think it’s fun.”  Of the 23 position players in Houston’s minicamp, 12 are designated as part of an “infielder/outfielder” defensive grouping, working at positions both in the grass and on the dirt.
  • Tigers prospect Ryan Kreidler may know a few things about position changes, as the longtime shortstop saw Javier Baez suddenly emerge as a roadblock after Baez landed in the Motor City on a six-year, $140MM deal.  While Baez can opt out of that contract after the 2023 season, Kreidler will likely be focusing on other positions in the interim — he has played a handful of games at third base and second base during his two minor league seasons.  “I will do whatever the Tigers want me to do, whether it’s shortstop, shortstop and third base, or utility,” Kreidler told Chris McCosky of The Detroit News.  “Whatever they deem me capable of doing I will do it to the best of my ability and just keep trucking…I think shortstops have the ability to play all over the field, that’s why continuing to take reps at shortstop is good for me.”  After a strong performance at the plate in 2021, Kreidler drew the attention of prospect evaluators and other teams, and now looks like yet another promising young Detroit player on the cusp of the big leagues.  Jonathan Schoop and Jeimer Candelario have second and third base spoken for, and are both also controlled through 2023, so a utility role might indeed be Kreidler’s best path to the Tigers’ active roster.
  • Elbow problems limited Matt Canterino to 23 innings in 2021, and between that abbreviated season and the canceled 2020 minor league campaign, the Twins prospect has tossed only 48 professional innings since being selected in the second round of the 2019 draft.  Canterino came to Minnesota’s minicamp on a clean bill of health, he told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and he is now focused on staying on the field.  “I can’t really worry too much about a shutdown period, like how my workload’s going to be managed, but I can do the things that I think are going to help me stay healthy in the long run,” Canterino said.  The righty has looked tremendous when he has been able to pitch, posting a 1.13 ERA and a whopping 42.94% strikeout rate over his 48 innings (topping out at the high-A level).

AL Central Notes: Kreidler, Tigers, Gregorius, Twins, White Sox

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Tigers shortstop prospect Ryan Kreidler has drawn trade interest from other teams, GM Al Avila told MLB.com’s Jason Beck and other reporters.  A fourth-round pick for Detroit in the 2019 draft, Kreidler hit a combined .270/.349/.454 with 22 home runs over 550 plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels this season, saving his best offensive work (.926 OPS) for his 162 PA with Triple-A Toledo.  This production came with quite a bit of swing-and-miss, but Kreidler also cut down on his strikeouts once reaching Triple-A. 

It seems like the 24-year-old might be able to help a team as soon as 2022, so it isn’t surprising that clubs are eyeing Kreidler as a potential trade chip, especially considering Detroit has been checking in on the biggest names in the free agent shortstop market.  Kreidler could be expendable if the Tigers sign one of those top shortstops, though Avila said that the team’s pursuit may not stop at the free agent market.  Trading for a shortstop is “possible.  It’s the hardest way of doing it, but it’s possible.”

More from around the AL Central…

  • The Twins are another club looking for shortstop help but don’t figure to spend big on the major names, as The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman and Dan Hayes figuring Minnesota will target a short-term name as a bridge to prospects Royce Lewis or Austin Martin.  It isn’t completely out of the question that the Twins go after a star (they had interest in Marcus Semien last winter, for instance) but players like Freddy Galvis, Jose Iglesias, or old friend Andrelton Simmons might be more of a fit.  As for trade possibilities, Gleeman and Hayes write that Didi Gregorius “was on the Twins’ radar last offseason” before he signed a two-year deal with the Phillies.  Gregorius struggled in 2021, however, which cost him a surefire starting job in Philadelphia next year, and might have also given the Twins pause about acquiring the veteran.  On Minnesota’s current roster, Jorge Polanco could be moved back to shortstop as a stopgap option, though the Twins would greatly prefer to keep Polanco at second base.
  • After signing Kendall Graveman to bolster the bullpen, the White Sox are aiming high and looking to now add a second baseman and “a front line starter,” according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).  Semien and Robbie Ray are mentioned by name, yet this could indicate that the Sox are just prepared to look at the top of the market to fill their needs, rather than necessarily a specific interest in either of those players.  This is itself notable given that the White Sox payroll is already projected for a new record-high for the team, and spending big on a player like Semien or Ray would take Chicago into luxury tax range for the first time ever.  Semien, of course, is already a familiar figure on the South Side, as spent his first two MLB seasons with the White Sox before being dealt to the Athletics in December 2014.

Injury Notes: Sawamura, Tigers, Chirinos

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In pregame scrum before tonight’s ALCS game six, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters that reliever Hirokazu Sawamura is dealing with a hamstring injury was potentially going to be removed from the roster. (Twitter links from Chris Cotillo of MassLive and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.) However, Ian Browne of MLB.com later relayed word from Cora that Sawamura will be sticking around.

The Red Sox have their backs against the wall, as they are down 3-2 in the ALCS and will have to win in Houston tonight and tomorrow in order to survive. The health and effectiveness of every pitcher on the staff will be integral to their success in that regard. News of this hamstring issue is certainly concerning, though the fact that Sawamura has held his roster spot implies that the club still feels he’s a better option than bringing in a fresh arm, such as Matt Barnes. Sawamura has been a solid contributor out of the pen this year, as he had an ERA of 3.06 over 53 innings in the regular season, with a strikeout rate of 26.2% and 13.7% walk rate. He wasn’t on the team roster for the ALDS but has appeared three times in the ALCS so far, logging two innings in total.

Other injury notes…

  • Chris McCosky of The Detroit News relays some updates on a few Tigers prospects from the Arizona Fall League. Infielders Spencer Torkelson and Ryan Kreidler will both miss the remainder of the league due to an ankle injury and calf injury, respectively. Meanwhile, outfielder Riley Greene has completed his concussion protocol. It had already been announced last week that Greene would miss the AFL because of a concussion sustained at the end of the Triple-A season. For a Tigers club that has been rebuilding in recent seasons, their prospects are incredibly important to turning the corner into being competitive, and that includes these three. MLB Pipeline has Torkelson, Greene and Kreidler as the club’s first-, second- and tenth-best prospects. Baseball America has the same 1-2 punch at the top but has Kreidler at 12th. FanGraphs also starts out with Torkelson and Greene at the top but has Kreidler at 25th. All three players reached Triple-A this season for at least 40 games, meaning they are right on the doorstep and knocking on the door of the majors.
  • Rays’ righty Yonny Chirinos won’t be ready for next year’s opening day, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Chirinos has been out of action for more than year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August of 2020, but has suffered a setback that will keep him out even longer. Topkin’s report says that the hurler fractured his elbow last month and that the best case scenario for his recovery would be for him to be on a rehab assignment in April or May. Before this extended absence, Chirinos was looking like he could be a foundational piece for the Rays. From 2018 to 2020, he threw 234 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.65. Even without Chirinos, the rotation should be in decent shape, with the presence of arms such as Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Yarbrough, Luis Patino, Shane Baz, Josh Fleming, Brendan McKay and Dietrich Enns. The Rays have never had an opening day payroll higher than $77MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, and Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates their payroll for next year to already be above $70MM. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for reinforcements, though they will surely non-tender a few of their arbitration-eligible players and bring that down a tad. The Rays are also always a candidate to figure out a way to move some money around, such as the contract of Kevin Kiermaier, whose name has been floated in trade talks for years and is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, valued just over $12MM.

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