Joey Ortiz has turned third base into a problem the Brewers almost have to solve.
Milwaukee keeps running into the same issue with him: the bat can disappear, the contact quality can wobble, and the whole package still leaves Pat Murphy with a tricky lineup puzzle. But Ortiz’s glove keeps dragging him back into the conversation. He brings elite speed, he piles up positive WAR because of his defense, and in the second half he has caught fire at the plate with a 180 wRC+ thanks in part to a big jump in bat speed.
That surge may not last forever. If Ortiz cools off again, the Brewers will be right back where they started, trying to figure out how to split up the left side of the infield. But the numbers at third base make the answer feel a lot less complicated than it first appears.
Ortiz, who is a shortstop by trade, has been outstanding at the hot corner this season. He leads all of MLB with +7 Outs Above Average at third base in 2026, and that’s despite not having enough innings there to qualify on the leaderboard. His 209.1 innings at the position are less than 25% of Matt Chapman’s total, which matters because Chapman is the player right behind him with +6 OAA.
There’s another defensive measure that gives the Brewers a reason to keep leaning into this. Ortiz has a +5 Fielding Run Value at third base, tied with Chapman and Alex Bregman for the best mark among third basemen. David Hamilton does have the edge in Defensive Runs Saved, sitting at +7 to Ortiz’s +3 at the position, but Hamilton has also logged twice as many innings there.
The roster crunch gets tighter once Cooper Pratt enters the picture. The rookie shortstop deserves a heavy share of the reps at his natural position once he’s healthy, and that leaves three strong defenders fighting over two spots. Shifting someone to second base does not really help, because Brice Turang is already there.
That’s why Hamilton looks more like the utility piece in this setup. He has more history at second and brings more value as a late-game option who can move around wherever needed.
Ortiz’s bat could still change the equation if he goes cold again, but right now the Brewers have their best defensive third baseman on the roster. The playing time should follow that reality.
In Other News...
Brewers Suddenly Have An Infield Opening They Cant Ignore
Injuries have thinned the Brewers options on the left side of the infield, with Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz both unavailable and the club now searching for a steadier answer. Milwaukee added Ji-hwan Bae as a free agent, but his defensive struggles have only sharpened the sense that the group needs another look.
One name worth watching is a prospect who has quietly forced his way into the conversation with a strong run at Triple-A Nashville. He has given the organization a potential internal solution at a time when the Brewers need one, and his offensive production has made the case harder to ignore as the infield picture keeps shifting. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Outfield Crunch Just Made Luis Lara Impossible To Ignore
Sal Frelick is closing in on a return from the right shoulder strain that has kept him out, with a rehab assignment of four games pointing toward a mid-August comeback. While the Brewers have been waiting on one of their most dependable outfield pieces, the absence has opened the door for Luis Lara, and the prospect has done enough with his glove to make this more than a temporary stopgap as Milwaukee sorts through the final stretch of the season.
The timing matters because the Brewers are trying to line up their best defensive options while also keeping bats in the mix, and Laras play has complicated what once looked like a straightforward reinsertion. Frelick should be back in the conversation soon, but the way Milwaukee handles the outfield after that will say plenty about how much trust it has in Lara as the postseason picture comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Trade With Cardinals Suddenly Carries Much Bigger Stakes
When Milwaukee sent Josiah Ragsdale and Alexander Frias to St. Louis in the deal for Dustin May and JoJo Romero, it looked like the kind of prospect-for-pitching swap that can take months or years to truly sort out. Frias quickly climbed near the top of the Cardinals system, while the Brewers parted with two names they valued enough to make the move in the first place, signaling they were willing to deal from depth to help the big-league staff right away.
Mays early work in Milwaukee has only sharpened the focus on the trade, because his presence has given the Brewers the kind of immediate rotation help they were chasing. At the same time, Ragsdale has kept forcing his way into the conversation with his continued power surge in the minors, which is exactly the sort of development that can make a seemingly straightforward deadline-style swap feel a lot bigger in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]