Can the Twins Do Better Than Ryan Kreidler? Three Options Worth Exploring

[Western SD Fan]

Let's go through each of the names listed:

1. Dubon - Let's play a test here on who you would choose.  First graphic is from 2026 followed by their career overall.  Baseball Reference won't line them up correctly.  As you can guess, in the first graphic, the player on the right is Dubon since the article stated his OPS+ was 98 in 2026.  The player on the left is the player we didn't sign in free agency after trading him to the Cubs, which is none other than Willi Castro.  Willi's career stats are on the right column compared to Dubon's on the left in the second graphic.  If you're looking for offense in a utility guy, then we should have just signed Castro and saved ourselves nearly $3M/yr then what MLBTR is estimating that Dubon would bring.  Is Dubon's defense really worth $3M/yr?  Plus, he is an RH batter so you're not even getting the platoon advantage by sitting Culpepper.  I'd rather run with Culpepper unless you're going to use Dubon to platoon out Clemens at 2B.

    

 

2.  IKF - another RH batter that, as the article states, isn't much of an upgrade over Kreidler with a more expensive price tag.  Seems like IKF is a guy you bring in for defensive purposes like the Twins did with Kreidler this year.

3.  Crawford - Crawford, like Dubon, is a guy you're paying to put in the lineup every day and throughout his career he has only played 59 games at 3B and 4 games at 2B.  Crawford seems to be the guy you bring in if you intend on trading Culpepper and waiting for Houston to arrive sometime in late 2027 or 2028.  Signing Crawford would send me the message that they don't believe in Culpepper.

I'm fine rolling it with Ross or Kreidler.  Since we are not expecting the year to start on time, maybe you start with Kreidler or a similarly cost-effective veteran and let Ross build up some AB's before Houston gets to St Paul, then decide to move Kreidler for Ross.

 

[mluebker]

I don’t understand the resistance to trying Keaschall at first. It keeps his bat in the lineup and his experience trying to play second at least gives him some experience on that side of the infield and alleviates the concern about his arm in an already crowded outfield. Spend whatever money Tom Pohlad is willing to spend on keeping Jeffers (or finding a solid replacement) and upgrading the bullpen. Then start focusing on player development and figure out why so many supposed future stars turn out to be mediocre when they finally reach MLB.

[DJL44]

11 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

If you sign any of these 3 guys. That guy will get 300 AB's. 

If they don’t, Kreidler will get 300 ABs

[Twins GFP]

I have said this before:

The Twins are at a point where FA signings should raise the ceiling, not the floor. The floor is already pretty solid, they need players that are going to improve the product.

An example of this would be signing Arraez that could push Clemens into the Kreidler role.

[Major League Ready]

52 minutes ago, Twins GFP said:

I have said this before:

The Twins are at a point where FA signings should raise the ceiling, not the floor. The floor is already pretty solid, they need players that are going to improve the product.

An example of this would be signing Arraez that could push Clemens into the Kreidler role.

Kreidler's role was primarily SS and CF so Clemmens is not assuming his role.

[nicksaviking]

4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

If they don’t, Kreidler will get 300 ABs

Kreidler wouldn't be getting 10M or whatever these guys will get.  Therefore, when his services are no longer needed, because Houston is up, Ross is shown to be more capable, or some other option emerges, the Twins will cut bait with him and not feel obligated to give him 10-15 PAs per week. Like they would with the free agents they are paying.

[Cris E]

On 11/8/2026 at 10:56 AM, dxpavelka said:

At some point I'd love to see this team focus more on actual value than on versatility.  Having guys who can play a multitude of places is great but if they are not a plus player with either the bat or the glove at any of them I don't see much actual value.  How I miss the days when a manager had 8 guys that he ran out there at the start of 125 games.  This year's edition of the local nine had four such guys.  The 1991 Twins had 8 guys that started 112 games.  The 1987 Twins had six guys start 124 games.  Tom Kelly made it a point to tell a Randy Bush to grab a glove and get used to using it more than he previously had.  Today's managers play the analytics game too much and spend too much time chasing micro matchups against a starting pitcher that might only pitch 2 and 2/3 innings and then find themselves at a disadvantage after the pitching change, and with only a four man bench a lack of options to change.  Now you kids get the hell off my grass.

Fine, but this is a discussion of the utility guy, not the whole roster philosophy. This is specifically the guy that needs to be versatile and play a bunch of positions. 

[Jacksson]

Article is nothing more than click bait.  Free agency is two fold.  The player has to want to come here and the team has to want to pay the player what the agent feels he is worth.  None of those 3 will want to come to MN to be a 1 or 2 day a week SS fill-in and a 3B/2B back-up for another 2 - 4 games per week.  The thrifty Pohlads will not authorize the multi-year contract with the annual amount it would take to sign any of the 3 candidates when the team already has both Kreidler and Ross available at the league minimum compensation.  To the Pohlads, operating a team is not about ACTUALLY winning; it is about the illusion of competitiveness and convincing the public of the commitment to winning.  All the while watchful of the bottom line so that the business makes a profit and the franchises value increases. 

[High heat]

I don’t want to commit to a utility guy for multiple seasons. I honestly think that’s Culpeppers job long term (Houston Astros Martin Gonzalez) gets 450 500 ABs a season but fills in at 2B SS and 3B based on matchups and the always present injuries and poor production that occurs.  
 

Now if you think JP Crawford can hit and play 2B full time while still filling in at SS.  
now go with Clemens, JP, Lewis (or another RH 1B) as  your right side of infield rotation. 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

I like Kriedler for the position. I like knowing if Culpepper has a day off for rest, the SS position is covered defensively. These other options are either terrible and/or way too expensive. Put the money towards upgrading other positions that need it.

I also like what I saw from Ben Ross in the small sample we got. Im comfortable with him as the next man up, as well. 

[dxpavelka]

10 hours ago, Cris E said:

Fine, but this is a discussion of the utility guy, not the whole roster philosophy. This is specifically the guy that needs to be versatile and play a bunch of positions. 

if the roster was constructed differently there would be less demand for a guy whose value lies mainly in his versatility.

[Riverbrian]

6 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

if the roster was constructed differently there would be less demand for a guy whose value lies mainly in his versatility.

You are right on the money.

We can sit here in all seriousness and debate the virtues of Kreidler, Dubon, IKF and Crawford.

People can eagerly debate which lesser player they'd prefer to roster. 

Go ahead. Purposefully roster the guy nobody wants to see in the lineup... ever.

And when he inevitably has to play... because he always has to play... Twins Daily will rise up and say awful things about him because he wasn't capable of handling the additional workload in the first place.

People never seem to realize... this discussion... THIS is the problem.

Don't get me wrong. Kreidler, Dubon and IKF aren't directly the problem. Kreidler was actually a godsend for a while.

The problem is the infielders above them. The ones they're trying to feed 500 ABs so these guys don't have to play. The ones we're counting on to lead us to glory. The ones we can't get away from because we've built the roster around them.

THAT is the problem.

The problem is Royce Lewis completely collapsing, and suddenly these guys have to save the season.

The problem is Culpepper hitting .120 through June, and suddenly these guys have to save the season.

The problem is Brooks Lee being out for four months with an oblique or calf injury, and suddenly these guys have to save the season.

And we should all have noticed by now that some version of these things happens every single year, without fail. Yet, every year. here we are... once again... looking for that guy that isn't capable of being the guy. Yet everyone demands that we have these guys on the roster because roster construction demands it. 

Tristan Gray is the replacement for Royce Lewis. James Outman is the replacement for Matt Wallner. 

Here we are, again. 

Choose well, Twins Daily.

Choose well.