Ryan

Kreidler

Twins manager Derek Shelton said there are no plans for Buxton to undergo imaging after he suffered a right shoulder contusion while making a phenomenal leaping catch at the center-field wall during the third inning of Friday’s series opener against the Royals. It’s the same shoulder that he injured while sliding into second base back on May 23. The 32-year-old fantasy stalwart will get some extra time off to rest and recover this weekend, but he appears to have avoided serious injury. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Sunday’s series finale. It’ll be Ryan Kreidler taking over in center field on Saturday afternoon.

It’s a rare day off for Larnach with an opposing right-hander on the hill. Ryan Kreidler will start in his place in left field and will bat eighth for the Twins against Royals’ right-hander Michael Wacha on Friday night in Minneapolis.

Kreidler impressed with some surprising power last month, but the Twins didn’t buy in and sent him back down on Apr. 22 anyway. Given another chance last week, he’s gone 5-for-13 in four games. Overall, he has three homers in 32 plate appearances, topping his total of two in 211 career major league plate appearances entering the season. His average bat speed is over 74 mph, up from 71 mph last year and 68.5 mph in 2024. As crazy as the idea would have seemed to be a few months ago, it’s probably time for the Twins to give him a look as a starter at short or third.

It’s the fourth straight game that Buxton has missed due to lingering right hip flexor soreness. There’s growing optimism though that he should be ready to return on Monday. Ryan Kreidler will start in his place in center field and will bat eighth for the Twins against Brewers’ southpaw Robert Gasser.

Kreidler was 3-for-14 with two home runs in his five games with the Twins earlier this season. He will most likely resume a super utility role off the bench.

Kreidler was 3-for-14 with two home runs in his five games with the Twins. With Royce Lewis back in the lineup, the Twins don’t need Kreidler up for now. He’ll be back at some point.

We now have a large enough sample size of games with Royce Lewis on the injured list, so we can say with certainty that Kreidler is the regular third baseman against lefties and Tristan Gray will start against righties. Unfortunately, neither one of them will likely be fantasy relevant.

Kreidler, who is getting starts versus lefty with Royce Lewis out, had two previous major league homers in 215 plate appearances, one each in 2022 and ’24 with the Tigers. The projected distance on tonight’s blast bested his previous high by 30 feet. His 108.9-mph exit velocity topped his previous high by two mph. It’s probably not a complete fluke; his bat speed is well up to begin the year. Still, it’s doubtful he’ll make enough contact to be much of a contributor.

Kreidler’s defensive versatility gives him some appeal with Minnesota in a bench role as they attempt to replace third baseman Royce Lewis for at least a couple weeks. The 28-year-old utility specialist has batted .138 (26-for-188) with two homers and seven steals in 89 games at the highest level since 2022.

Kreidler is a career .138/.208/.176 MLB hitter in 211 plate appearances, so he was always a long shot to make the Opening Day roster. His defensive versatility will likely give him a chance at some MLB at-bats this season.