Joey Ortiz sat out the Milwaukee Brewers’ matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, but that absence did not sound like a preview of October.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy made that much plain when asked about Ortiz’s playoff status, and his answer pointed in two directions at once: Ortiz is still very much part of the plan, and Milwaukee is also trying to manage a few moving pieces before the postseason arrives.
“Joey doesn't work as well versus that two-seamer, but if it was the playoffs today, Joey would be in there,” Murphy said. “He's been so good for us, and I don't want to waver his confidence at all.
But he's got a little abdominal strain thing going on that he's been fighting. I noticed a little bit of it a couple of days ago.
We're looking to get him a break. And we need to get [David Hamilton] in there.
Same with [Luis Lara]. I would probably start [Sal Frelick] today, but we have to get Lara some at-bats against right-handers, too.”
That’s a pretty clear window into how Milwaukee is thinking about its lineup right now. Ortiz wasn’t in the starting group against Zack Wheeler, but Murphy’s comments suggested that if the games start to count in the playoffs, Ortiz’s name goes right back onto the card.
It’s been quite a swing for Ortiz over the course of the season. He began the year at shortstop and provided strong defense, but the offense lagged badly enough that his role looked uncertain.
Cooper Pratt’s arrival only added to that uncertainty at the time. Then Ortiz shifted to third base, and everything started to click at the plate.
What once looked like a temporary fix has turned into a real breakout. Ortiz has become a key part of the Brewers’ lineup, even if that wasn’t the expectation early on.
Through 131 games, Ortiz is hitting .267/.326/.403 with a .729 OPS. He has nine home runs, 46 RBIs, nine stolen bases, 14 doubles, four triples and 49 runs scored. He has also struck out just 78 times, all while continuing to provide elite defense.
The Phillies are also the kind of opponent Milwaukee could see again in the National League Division Series. If the season ended today, Philadelphia would open in the Wild Card round against the Chicago Cubs, and the winner would move on to face the Brewers.
So even though Tuesday’s game was just another night in the regular season, it offered something more useful for Milwaukee: a peek at how the Brewers may want to line up once the calendar flips to October. And based on Murphy’s comments, Ortiz is still right in the middle of it.
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Richardson is no stranger to changing uniforms this year, having already spent time on both the Reds roster and the Brewers roster. His major league results have been uneven, but he has shown better form in the minors, which is part of why Milwaukee continues to keep him in the conversation as the final stretch approaches and the pitching plan starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]