Versatile Tigers infielder rehabbing from finger surgery

The Tigers announced Tuesday that infielder Ryan Kreidler underwent surgery for a fractured right index finger on April 11. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press was among those to relay the news. The club didn’t announce when it expects Kreidler to return to action but it seems fair to expect an absence of at least a few more weeks. He is on the club’s 40-man roster but didn’t break camp with the Tigers and was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to start the year, having now been put on the minor league injured list.

The Tigers are currently operating with diminished infield depth at the major league level, since both Gio Urshela and Andy Ibanez have landed on the IL this month, each due to a strained hamstring. Matt Vierling has taken over the everyday third base job from Urshela of late, while Buddy Kennedy has taken over for Ibanez, serving as a bench infielder alongside Zach McKinstry.

Kreidler, 26, could have been in the mix for such a gig were it not for this injury. He has taken 102 plate appearances for the Tigers over the previous two seasons, though he’s hit just .165/.220/.209 in his major league career thus far. He’s naturally performed better in the minors, with a line of .241/.340/.417 across different levels in his career.

He has played the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as some center field, which could make him a valuable utility piece if he could bring a bit more offense up to the majors. Baseball America ranked him as one of the club’s top 10 prospects going into 2022 and 2023.

Staying on the field has been an issue for Kreidler in recent years. He suffered a right hand fracture in April of 2022 and was limited to 86 games that year, 60 in the minors and 26 in the majors. Last year, he required core muscle surgery and got into 74 games, 11 in the majors.

He is now once again on the shelf and looking at a stretch of missed time. After a handful of injury setbacks in recent years, he and the Tigers will naturally be hoping that he can quickly get over this issue and get some regular reps this year. He is optionable for the rest of this year and will still have one option year left going forward.