The Brewers are still sitting atop the National League, but that hasn’t stopped them from tinkering around the edges as they try to keep their championship push on track.
On Saturday, Milwaukee entered its game against the Dodgers at 75-48, the best record in the NL, after dropping four of its first five games on this California trip. That skid started with a sweep at the hands of the Padres, and Friday night brought a 3-1 loss to Los Angeles in the opener of a four-game series between two of the league’s top teams.
Even with the standings cushion, Milwaukee kept working on the roster. The club announced on X that it had acquired infielder/outfielder Jonathan Ornelas from the Athletics for cash considerations. To clear space on the 40-man roster, the Brewers designated utility player Ji Hwan Bae for assignment.
Ornelas brings the kind of defensive versatility teams love to stash on a contending roster. The 26-year-old has spent most of his career in the minors, but he can handle multiple spots and gives Milwaukee another option while injuries continue to pile up.
The Brewers have been dealing with absences for second baseman Brice Turang and rookie infielder Cooper Pratt, which made the move even more understandable. Ornelas isn’t expected to boost the offense, but the Brewers clearly like the idea of plugging defensive holes if starters are sidelined.
That also explains why Bae was the odd man out. He struggled defensively and managed just one hit, a bunt single, across four games with Milwaukee.
For a team with World Series aspirations, small moves like this can matter, especially with the season entering its final stretch and the Brewers hoping to get healthy sooner rather than later.
In Other News...
Tarik Skubals Dodgers Future Just Became A Bigger Story
Tarik Skubals arrival gave the Dodgers another front-line arm at the trade deadline, and the early returns have been exactly what a club in October pursuit would hope for. After spending his entire professional career with the Tigers, Skubal has already made two starts in Los Angeles and is still settling into a very different environment, one that comes with the usual demands of joining a contender in the middle of the season.
The bigger wrinkle is what comes next. Skubal is headed for free agency after the season, so while he has made clear he is excited to be with the Dodgers, the long-term fit is not remotely settled yet. For a team that always has one eye on the present and another on the future, his next few months could matter well beyond this years pennant race. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Face A Real Roki Sasaki Decision Late In Games
Edwin Dazs uneven run as the Dodgers closer has turned late innings into a more delicate conversation than the club probably expected, especially after he absorbed his fourth save blow in just 14 appearances and kept his ERA in an uncomfortable place. For a team built to survive October pressure, the ninth inning has become one of the few areas where the margin for error feels thin, and that has naturally pushed attention toward the arm that once looked like a starters long-term answer.
Roki Sasaki is suddenly part of that discussion because the Dodgers have enough rotation depth that his path to the postseason may not be as straightforward as it looked earlier in the year. If the club decides his best value is in the highest-leverage spots rather than asking him to fit into a crowded starter mix, that would say plenty about how the Dodgers now view the tradeoff between regular-season planning and winning the games that matter most late. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Have A Kyle Tucker Problem They Cant Ignore
Kyle Tucker was absent from the lineup against the Brewers on Saturday, a decision Dave Roberts framed as part of a broader response to the outfielders recent struggles, particularly at home. The Dodgers have watched Tuckers production drift enough that it has become impossible to brush aside, and Roberts pointed to the split between his home and road results as a real issue the club has been tracking.
Tucker has still put together a season line of .234 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs, but the concern is less about the overall totals than the uneven way they have come. Roberts said Tucker would be back in the lineup the next day, leaving the Dodgers to hope the reset can help him regain some traction in the environment where he has had the toughest time finding it. [Read more 🡒]