It Made the Most Sense (Almost) All Along: Joey Ortiz Named Brewers' Primary Shortstop

[Matthew Trueblood]

The decision wasn't in question, really. Then it was, but not because of either of the main players involved. Now, the uncertainty has been resolved—largely because of one of the main players involved, after all.

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Having Joey Ortiz slide from third base to shortstop in the stead of departed ex-Brewer Willy Adames always made the most sense. Brice Turang won the Platinum Glove in 2024, as the best of the Gold Glove winners in the National League, all at second base. He's a solid athlete who could play shortstop without costing the team runs, but Ortiz is the more natural fit for that position, and a certain inertia usually keeps fielders who establish an elite level at one position from being moved to another.

Yet, halfway through spring training, the Brewers did seriously consider moving Turang to shortstop, after all. Though the experiment included some time for Ortiz at second in Cactus League games, that was never part of the plan they entertained. Putting Ortiz there was just the best way to get at-bats for him, while also getting Turang reps at short—and Caleb Durbin more looks at third base. Durbin has been the pivot point for the team's plans on the infield all spring.

 

While both Oliver Dunn and Durbin figure to have roles on this team in 2025, the club would like the distribution of their playing time to favor the right-handed batter in Durbin more than a traditional platoon would. Instead of Dunn getting 70 percent or more of the playing time, ideally, Durbin would win about half the job reserved for the two of them. For that to be viable, though, the team needed to see that Durbin could handle third base. 

Early in camp, Murphy dismissed the idea of shuffling his infield from one day to the next, based on the handedness composition of the opposing lineup or the handedness of the opposing team's starting pitcher. He wanted to have a locked-in position for both Ortiz and Turang, whom he views as everyday players. The question, which initially was almost a perfunctory one, was whether it made more sense to play Durbin and Dunn at third or at second. That, rather than any particular trait of Ortiz or Turang, could have been the determining factor in how the team lined up around the horn.

The first twist came not long into Cactus League play, when it became pretty clear that Durbin is ill-suited to third base. He's hesitant when charging softly hit balls, doesn't always field hard-hit ones cleanly, and lacks the arm strength for the toughest throws the position forces a player to make. Durbin is a hard worker and a good overall athlete, but it's very clear that his best defensive position is at second—and not at all clear that he can even meet the team's standard for what a third baseman must be, defensively, on a part-time basis.

As often happens, though, an external consideration intervened. Not long into the experiment of playing Turang at short, he came up with a sore shoulder. It doesn't look like that injury is serious, but it was enough. Rather than risk straining the capabilities and the health of their best infielder beyond their breaking points, the team is retreating from the idea. Turang will stay at second, where the throws are mostly shorter and easier. Ortiz gets the shortstop job.

Unavoidably, this affects the outlook for Durbin in terms of making the Opening Day roster, let alone seizing a good chunk of playing time. Dunn will play more at third, by a wide margin. Vinny Capra, who is out of options and having too good a spring to be lost on waivers amid it, is going to make the team as a utility infielder. The locks for some of the 13 position-player roster spots are:

• William Contreras
• Eric Haase
• Rhys Hoskins
• Brice Turang
• Joey Ortiz
• Oliver Dunn
• Vinny Capra
• Christian Yelich
• Garrett Mitchell
• Sal Frelick
• Jackson Chourio

That leaves just two jobs unclaimed, to be divided among Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Jake Bauers and Mark Canha. If Turang's shoulder is worse than we think and he must start the season on the injured list, three of the four can make it, but that seems unlikely—and even in that case, it would be a brief stay on the roster for the third player in that mix.

Bauers is likely to head to Nashville to open the season. Canha, however, is just barely shy of a lock to make the team. That would leave Durbin and Monasterio in a showdown for the final roster spot, and if the team thinks Durbin could benefit from more playing time in the short term, he could well lose that battle.

Pat Murphy raves about Durbin's makeup, and good makeup can mean more capacity for improvement on defense; some of it comes down to taking good reps and remaining confident. If Durbin goes to Nashville and comes up in mid-May as a solid defender at the hot corner, the Brewers will have come out ahead through all this uncertainty. If not, though, they'll have to revisit how best to integrate their new infielder later in the campaign. For now, Ortiz and Turang have had their roles clarified, and Dunn is more secure than ever in his expectation of playing time over the first month or two.

View full article

[gregmag]

It seems like, if three things all happen, trying Turang at ss would still make sense: (1) Dunn doesn't hit; (2) Durbin hits too well at AAA to keep down but still doesn't look like a 3b; (3) Turang recovers and manages to strengthen his shoulder.  Moving Ortiz back to 3b in that scenario wouldn't be a big deal.  But I doubt all three of those things happen.  More likely somebody gets hurt and forces the issue.

If Dunn hits, a whole lot of problems disappear or at least get a lot simpler to manage.

[Michael Trzinski]

33 minutes ago, gregmag said:

It seems like, if three things all happen, trying Turang at ss would still make sense: (1) Dunn doesn't hit; (2) Durbin hits too well at AAA to keep down but still doesn't look like a 3b; (3) Turang recovers and manages to strengthen his shoulder.  Moving Ortiz back to 3b in that scenario wouldn't be a big deal.  But I doubt all three of those things happen.  More likely somebody gets hurt and forces the issue.

If Dunn hits, a whole lot of problems disappear or at least get a lot simpler to manage.

And if Capra and Dunn both hit, it's a double bonus 🙂

[Matthew Trueblood]

2 hours ago, gregmag said:

It seems like, if three things all happen, trying Turang at ss would still make sense: (1) Dunn doesn't hit; (2) Durbin hits too well at AAA to keep down but still doesn't look like a 3b; (3) Turang recovers and manages to strengthen his shoulder.  Moving Ortiz back to 3b in that scenario wouldn't be a big deal.  But I doubt all three of those things happen.  More likely somebody gets hurt and forces the issue.

If Dunn hits, a whole lot of problems disappear or at least get a lot simpler to manage.

Possible. I think even then, Murphy would feel some reluctance. His goal was to make a decision and be able to stick to it, barring injuries. We'll see how reachable that goal turns out to be.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't see Capra as a no-brainer.  He had two great weeks early in spring training but he's also going to be 29 in July.  There's a real possibility it was just a hot streak that any solid AAA player can have in spring training.   Dunn might be on firmer ground because he's a left handed bat.