Kreidler's glove work and hot bat could cement him as Minnesota's everyday shortstop.
Ryan Kreidler came to the Minnesota Twins as a waiver claim from the Pittsburgh Pirates back in October 2025 with a career batting average under .200 and a reputation as nothing more than a versatile utility option.
The 28-year-old UCLA product was not on anyone's radar as a potential everyday player, and when the Twins opened the 2026 season, the shortstop job belonged to Brooks Lee.
Shelton Makes His Feelings Known
That has changed in a big way over the last several weeks.
After Lee's defense at shortstop became a growing concern and he was shifted to third base, the Twins cycled through a handful of options at the position that did not work out.
Orlando Arcia had a brief run before being sent back to Triple-A, and Tristan Gray showed he was better suited for a utility role, leaving Kreidler as the last man standing and the clear best defender of the bunch.
Manager Derek Shelton was asked about Kreidler's play in the field during the team's recent trip to Arizona, and his answer left no doubt about where things stand.
"He's played about as well as you can play defensively," Shelton said. "The two games in Arizona, in the first inning he made an unbelievable play on the (ball) from Carroll. He made a really good play later in the game. Those factors contribute."
More Than Just a Glove
What makes Kreidler's case even more convincing is that the defense has come alongside the best offensive stretch of his career.
Through 37 games in 2026, he is slashing .284/.370/.519 with four home runs, 18 RBI and an .889 OPS.
That production from a player who hit .105 with the Tigers in 2025 is a dramatic turnaround, and it has turned heads all across the Twins organization.
The versatility adds another layer to his value as well.
Kreidler has logged time at shortstop, center field and third base this season, giving Shelton the kind of flexibility that is hard to find on a roster with limited depth.
But his best work has come at short, where he has posted a positive Outs Above Average and has looked nothing like the shaky defenders the Twins have run out at that spot for most of the year.
What It Means Going Forward
Minnesota currently sits at 38-42 and third in the AL Central, 3.5 games back of the co-leading White Sox and Guardians.
With top shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper still recovering from a hip strain on the injured list, there is a real window for Kreidler to lock down the shortstop job and hold it for the rest of the season.
If the bat stays this hot and the glove keeps showing up the way it has, it will be very tough for Shelton to take him out of that lineup, even when Culpepper eventually gets healthy.
For a player who entered the year with almost no expectations, Kreidler is quickly making himself impossible to bench.
