The Detroit Tigers are known to be hunting for a shortstop. Their flirtation with Carlos Correa has been fairly well documented, to the point of photographs of he and manager AJ Hinch having brunch together circulating online. According to Hinch, there was nothing to see there, and he was just giving Correa a gift and catching up with his former shortstop.
Despite those protestations, teams around the league are expecting that the Tigers will land one of the top shortstops in free agency. Naturally, teams are inquiring about one of their top prospects, shortstop Ryan Kreidler.
Asked if the trade market is a viable route to add a shortstop, Tigers GM Al Avila said, "It's possible. It's the hardest way of doing it, but it's possible."
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) November 22, 2021
Coincidentally, Avila said teams have brought up shortstop prospect Ryan Kreidler in trade discussions.
Detroit Tigers prospect, Ryan Kreidler, drawing attention
It is understandable why teams would check in on his availability. Should the Tigers land one of the top shortstops in free agency, his path would seemingly be blocked at the major league level. Shifting to a different position may be possible, but Kreidler has all of eight games of experience outside of short, with one game at second and seven at third.
A fourth round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, Kreidler exploded onto the prospect map this year. Although he never played above Low-A, the Tigers aggressively started him at the Double-A level. Not only did he perform relatively well, but he earned a callup to Triple-A as well.
His overall performance certainly caught the eye of the Tigers, let alone other organizations. He produced a solid .270/.349/.454 batting line in his 550 plate appearances, hitting 22 homers and 23 doubles while stealing 15 bases. Based on that performance, the expectation was that he would debut with the Tigers at some point in the 2022 season.
But those plans are all subject to change. The Tigers bringing in one of those top shortstops, be it Correa or someone else, would effectively keep Kreidler from making an impact. At that point, a trade would make sense.
Ryan Kreidler’s future with the Detroit Tigers depends on their moves in free agency. He certainly has plenty of teams interested in his services.