The Detroit Tigers have a strong lineup, with Javier Baez being a huge part of the team thanks to his defensive versatility and offensive prowess. With the rest of the roster being strong, and the top prospects residing in the infield, that leaves little room for bubble players who’ve already made their MLB debuts.
Tigers writer Colin Keane of Motor City Bengals predicts that, despite holding similar defensive versatility to Baez, the Tigers will move on from Ryan Kriedler. While not Baez’s direct backup, he does fill a similar role on the roster, but Keane predicts that he won’t be a member of the Tigers by the offseason.
“If the Tigers don’t have reason to keep (Trey) Sweeney or (Jace) Jung around, they certainly don’t have room for Ryan Kreidler.” Keane writes. “His defensive versatility is useful and may attract other clubs as a low-cost option, but his career .384 OPS in 188 at-bats leaves a ton to be desired.”
Keane brings up the main reason why Kreidler is likely on the outs in Detroit: his poor offensive metrics. An OPS of .384 is very low, as his career OPS+ in the Majors is 11, meaning he’s 89 percent worse than the league-average hitter.
Such poor offensive numbers aren’t conducive to MLB tenure, and Kreidler is one of the more obvious cut candidates in the offseason. A team might be interested in the 27-year-old, but the best the Tigers likely could get is cash considerations or a low-level prospect.
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He can play third base, shortstop, and center field for the Tigers, and also has experience in left field and at second base. His positional versatility overlaps with Baez’s, and they’re both good defenders.
But, with his poor offensive numbers, even with his defensive versatility, there’s not much upside for Kriedler. And on the Tigers, thanks to deep infield depth and a few infield prospects on the rise, Kreidler doesn’t have a spot on the roster going forward.
While he has the defensive versatility of someone like Baez, his offensive metrics are significantly worse. Baez’s worst season was 2024, and his OPS+ was a 44. Kreidler’s best season was 2021, when he had a 39 OPS+.
Even if he has the defensive versatility, his offense is just too poor to hold on to. Keane predicts he’ll be off the team by the offseason, as he calls it an “obvious move” amid Kreidler’s poor offensive production.
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