How this underrated Twins offseason pickup is exceeding expectations

One of the Twins' offseason pickups, Ryan Kreidler was definitely one of the lesser-known ones. Before this season, the 28-year-old journeyman held a career slash line of .138/.208/.176 (11 wRC+) in just 89 MLB games since making his big-league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2022. While Tristan Gray earned the Twins' final position player roster spot over Kreidler out of spring training, Kreidler found himself back in the majors for 11 days in April and returned about a week ago due to outfielder Matt Wallner's demotion to Triple-A.

In 10 games with Minnesota this season, Kreidler has slashed .296/.406/.667 (195 wRC+) with three homers, one double, six runs and seven RBI while logging innings at third base, shortstop and center field. There's a good chance Kreidler will revert to being a below-average player, but there's one reason to believe he could continue to succeed: his increased bat speed.

Regardless of his small sample size, Kreidler's increased bat speed is significant enough to be notable. While the former Tiger likely won't have an OPS above 1.000 at the end of the year, he may end up being much more valuable than expected.

Kreidler provides value to Twins in many ways

In addition to his strong stretch at the plate, Kreidler has provided the Twins with exceptional defensive versatility. With Royce Lewis in Triple-A, Kreidler will likely play a lot of third base in the upcoming weeks/months unless he regresses significantly offensively. The fact that he can play a decent center field is also extremely valuable, as it gives Minnesota more flexibility to have Byron Buxton serve as a designated hitter occasionally. In his 99 career games, Kreidler has recorded 4 Outs Above Average across four positions.

As stated earlier in the article, Gray earned the final Opening Day roster spot after competing for the role with Kreidler and infielder Orlando Arcia. Funny enough, Gray, Kreidler and Arcia are all now on the 26-man roster after Minnesota selected Arcia's contract to take Lewis' spot.

It's difficult to imagine that Gray, Kreidler and Arcia will all keep their roster spots for the rest of the year. Hopefully, Lewis and Wallner will rejoin the team later in the season. Also, top infield prospect Kaelen Culpepper appears ready to make the jump to the majors soon. If I had to bet on who among Gray, Krediler and Arcia has the best chance of holding onto their roster spot, I'd put my money on Kreidler due to his increased bat speed and ability to play infield and outfield.

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