If the Brewers Have to Replace Joey Ortiz, How Will They Do It?

[Matthew Trueblood]

It's only been 90 plate appearances, but on the other hand, it's felt like about 900, watching the Crew's shortstop (not) hit.

Image courtesy of © Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Brewers pulled the trigger on their first lineup turnover of 2025 relatively early, last week, by sending Oliver Dunn to Triple-A Nashville and recalling Caleb Durbin to take over third base. It can hardly be called a surprise, as poorly as Dunn was hitting, but it stings a bit that they had to make the change so soon. At a blush, it feels like an indictment of the choice to demote Durbin and play Dunn in the first place. Even once you review their process and the spring training each player had, it leaves a bitter taste, because it makes the potential for Dunn to contribute at all in the future a bit more murky.

Still, everyone knew that move was possible. Dunn's very rough first campaign with the Brewers left plenty of people wondering if he can hit big-league pitching, and Durbin is a promising (though probably not star-caliber) alternative, whom they were going to want to audition soon anyway. The hot corner swap is tolerable, if slightly unpleasant. If the team has to make a similar move with shortstop Joey Ortiz in the coming weeks, it's going to be a whole lot less palatable. The team is not, in any way, prepared for that, and no one would have predicted that they would face this dilemma even a month ago.

Ortiz's rookie season was slightly dimmed by the vicissitudes of batting eighth or ninth almost daily as a young player, and by a neck injury that cost him bat speed for much of the second half. He showed lots of encouraging signs, though, and the hope coming into spring training was that he would emerge as a secondary but helpful piece of the offense, in addition to taking over the position vacated by Willy Adames's departure in free agency.

He made that hoped-for future feel very close at hand all spring, raking and running all over the park. Little though spring numbers matter, it was impossible not to be influenced by his 1.145 OPS for the Cactus League campaign. He walked seven times, had nine extra-base hits, and only struck out 10 times. He looked like a dynamic, slashing player who could lengthen the lineup and make the whole batting order feel like a minefield for opposing pitching staffs—which is what he was during his best stretches in 2024, too.

Since the games started counting, though, Ortiz has just one extra-base hit. It came on a not-so-lively middle-middle fastball, and while it also counted as a Barrel, according to Statcast, even that was only so noted after the fact. It came on April 2.

Ortiz's plate discipline hasn't completely collapsed. He's making ample contact, and walking about 9% of the time. He's also shown as little power as it's possible for an athlete of his caliber to demonstrate, running the lowest average exit velocity in baseball and coming up with tons of feeble batted balls. Of his 13 singles this year, two were Texas Leaguers (bloopers into the space between the infielders and the outfielders); four were hit reasonably sharply, but at negative launch angles. and just saw their way through the infield; and two came on about the ugliest mishits you'll ever see. Of the latter two, one probably should have been called an error, rather than an infield single.

Nor has Ortiz been good in the field. There have been outright errors, but also a fair share of misplays that were just beyond the range where a fielder takes the brunt under modern scoring conventions. He's playing the right position to survive in the lineup while slugging .190, but he's not playing it anywhere near well enough to justify his place for long.

That all leaves us with the urgent question: What can the Brewers do about it? They don't have a second Durbin handy. Andruw Monasterio continues to go backward, and it looks increasingly like the neat story that was his emergence in 2023 as a playable, versatile infield stopgap was temporary. Given how late he bloomed, that's not surprising, or even disappointing. It's just who Monasterio was always most likely to be. Without him as an option, though, it's hard to figure out how the Brewers would handle it if they need to replace Ortiz in May.

Brice Turang could slide from second to short. After all, the team entertained that notion for an entertainingly long time this spring. That would still leave second base open, though. Vinny Capra has not been any better than Dunn or Ortiz this year, though perhaps a brief audition for him would be the right call, since he's out of options and hasn't gotten a shot to play even semi-regularly yet.

We've seen the Brewers address similar problems with in-season moves, even early in the year, very recently. Adames himself is one example. Their trade for Quinn Priester is another, of course. Could the team engage with the Rockies on a deal for Ryan McMahon, an oft-rumored target? Perhaps, although McMahon isn't off to a scorching start, himself. If the Diamondbacks get second baseman Ketel Marte back soon, they might be ready to talk about trading post-hype top prospect Jordan Lawlar, although players like that become available at moments like these only if something has gone wrong for them. The Royals could find themselves in seller mode and be willing to listen on either Maikel García or Jonathan India, but those are more options with warts or problems of fit to consider.

The wild card is Cooper Pratt. He won't even turn 21 until August, and he's not an option right away. He only has 70 plate appearances for Double-A Biloxi this spring. He's hitting, though, and not in a way that's obviously unsustainable. He played in some Cactus League games this spring and didn't look overmatched or intimidated by the speed of the game, on offense or defense. The longer he hits well in the minors, and the longer Ortiz struggles in the majors, the stronger the temptation will grow for the team to have them switch places. Ortiz is older than he seems (he'll be 27 in July), but he still has options, and he's certainly played a Triple-A caliber of baseball over the first three-plus weeks of this major-league season.

This was not supposed to be on Matt Arnold and Pat Murphy's list of possible dilemmas. Maybe Ortiz will break out soon, obviating the conversation. Right now, though, he's a scar on the lineup card, and the Brewers' margin for error feels narrower than in recent years. If things continue like this for long, they'll need to make a tough decision.

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[JohnBriggs12]

There's still a week left in April.  He's hit some balls hard that ended as outs.  The time he came up in Denver with the bases loaded and hit about a 110 mph smash right at the 3rd baseman,  Those will even out over time

[Austin Tatious]

Garrett Mitchell is another guy.  The guy has immense talent but sure looks like he needs a reset at AAA.  He’s just as lost and baffled as Ortiz is.  

[Trax]

Leave Pratt for now, he needs a little more development time.  By the end of the year that may become a necessity.   You hope Ortiz comes around and watch closely who is hitting the ball among the more veteran players at Triple or Double.  Shuffle as needed, but Montasterio is not a long term answer.  I doubt he's a short term answer as a starter.  Durbin can always move to 2nd with Turang at short if we can find that 3rd base hitter from inside or out.  I would not rule out a trade, and possibly a big one involving prospects.  A ready prospect to us for a couple not ready for prime time high prospects of ours type of thing.

[Brian]

It's not even realistic to think that a career .228 hitter will amazingly hit even .240 ever ... and to top it off you can expect about double digit errors to go along with it if he plays the full 162 game schedule @ SS. 

[sveumrules]

6 minutes ago, Brian said:

It's not even realistic to think that a career .228 hitter will amazingly hit even .240 ever

Steve Yeager is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with batting averages of .266 and .256.

Kevin Elster is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with batting averages of .252 and .241.

Paul DeJong is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with bating averages of .285 and .241.

Joey Ortiz hit .239 last year over 511 plate appearances, one more hit would have put him at .241. I don't think it's unrealistic or would be some amazing feat for him to hit .240 ever. Especially considering he is a still developing player with all of 635 career MLB plate appearances.

[Brian]

41 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Steve Yeager is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with batting averages of .266 and .256.

Kevin Elster is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with batting averages of .252 and .241.

Paul DeJong is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with bating averages of .285 and .241.

Joey Ortiz hit .239 last year over 511 plate appearances, one more hit would have put him at .241. I don't think it's unrealistic or would be some amazing feat for him to hit .240 ever. Especially considering he is a still developing player with all of 635 career MLB plate appearances.

I agree, it is not unrealistic but I think unlikely. Simply because someone can do something doesn't mean everyone should be able to do it. 

SS has to be the most high demand, stressful position on the field and for a career utility man to take over the SS position may be weighing on his whole game.  Stress in one area of a persons game definitely can spill over into other areas of his game. 

[Brewer77]

18 minutes ago, Brian said:

I agree, it is not unrealistic but I think unlikely. Simply because someone can do something doesn't mean everyone should be able to do it. 

SS has to be the most high demand, stressful position on the field and for a career utility man to take over the SS position may be weighing on his whole game.  Stress in one area of a persons game definitely can spill over into other areas of his game. 

If you had a 5+ year MLB vet who had never touched a .250 BA, then I think it’s fair to say he’s unlikely to achieve such a number. If you’re talking about a guy with barely a full season of MLB PAs under his belt, then I don’t think it’s fair to box them into whatever their production is to date. Brice Turang was a .220 hitter after his first season and now look where he is. Development takes time and Ortiz certainly may never get there, but it’s too soon to tell

I would also say Ortiz is a career shortstop more than a career utilityman. 80% of his innings in the minors came at SS. It is an adjustment to play it at an MLB level and that might be playing a role in his production at the plate, but it’s not like he’s learning a new position 

[Matthew Trueblood]

2 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Steve Yeager is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with batting averages of .266 and .256.

Kevin Elster is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with batting averages of .252 and .241.

Paul DeJong is a career .228 hitter. He had individual seasons with bating averages of .285 and .241.

Joey Ortiz hit .239 last year over 511 plate appearances, one more hit would have put him at .241. I don't think it's unrealistic or would be some amazing feat for him to hit .240 ever. Especially considering he is a still developing player with all of 635 career MLB plate appearances.

Speaking of Paul DeJong, actually........

[sveumrules]

7 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

Speaking of Paul DeJong, actually........

Was hitting almost as bad as Ortiz at 204/246/278 (48 wRC+) with a 3.5 BB% and (wait for it) a 42.1 K% before getting hit in the face and going on the IL.

Has seen most of his action at 3B (93 innings) this year but the Nationals have rolled him out for a few games at SS (38 innings) so far.

[Stubby66]

Honestly I think they should already move Durbin to second, Turang to short and put Ortiz back at third. Turang is better at short, with Ortiz seemingly more comfortable at third which could help his hitting.  Durbin just doesn't seem to have the arm for third. Frankly I don't think Milwaukee should be scared of using Pratt at second even if he hasn't hit any over AA. Chourio did it this young along with Sheffield,  Yount, Molitor,  and Speiers. Now that being said only do this if he is willing to sign an extension like Chourio did to guarantee having h in his prime still. Otherwise go get Baty or Grissom 

[Matthew Trueblood]

2 hours ago, Stubby66 said:

Honestly I think they should already move Durbin to second, Turang to short and put Ortiz back at third. Turang is better at short, with Ortiz seemingly more comfortable at third which could help his hitting.  Durbin just doesn't seem to have the arm for third. Frankly I don't think Milwaukee should be scared of using Pratt at second even if he hasn't hit any over AA. Chourio did it this young along with Sheffield,  Yount, Molitor,  and Speiers. Now that being said only do this if he is willing to sign an extension like Chourio did to guarantee having h in his prime still. Otherwise go get Baty or Grissom 

It's one of those things that sounds like hokum, and usually is, but there ARE some guys who just aren't as comfortable at a defensive spot, and then have that heavily affect their offense, too. If they have a reason to believe Ortiz is such a guy, you can make a case for this. It's an interesting thought.

[sportsquestionmark]

6 hours ago, Brian said:

It's not even realistic to think that a career .228 hitter will amazingly hit even .240 ever ... and to top it off you can expect about double digit errors to go along with it if he plays the full 162 game schedule @ SS. 

I really hope this is sarcasm, the guy has played in a whopping 180 games (which is just barely more than a full season if you're not aware)

[Brian]

39 minutes ago, sportsquestionmark said:

I really hope this is sarcasm, the guy has played in a whopping 180 games (which is just barely more than a full season if you're not aware)

I am totally aware of everything and when I say a .240 avg max.  I meant for a full season because I'm sure he could have spurts of hitting even .300 for a couple of weeks but when the season is all over in October .240 max is all I see, that my prediction wright it down.  He will not end the season better than a .240 avg. 

[sportsquestionmark]

22 minutes ago, Brian said:

I am totally aware of everything and when I say a .240 avg max.  I meant for a full season because I'm sure he could have spurts of hitting even .300 for a couple of weeks but when the season is all over in October .240 max is all I see, that my prediction wright it down.  He will not end the season better than a .240 avg. 

You said it's not realistic he'll ever hit .240 when literally last year in his ONlY FULL SEASON he hit .239 and was 1 hit away from hitting .241

[Brian]

11 minutes ago, sportsquestionmark said:

You said it's not realistic he'll ever hit .240 when literally last year in his ONlY FULL SEASON he hit .239 and was 1 hit away from hitting .241

I also said not playing SS, because it is a high stress position.  My quote exactly was: "SS has to be the most high demand, stressful position on the field and for a career utility man to take over the SS position may be weighing on his whole game.  Stress in one area of a persons game definitely can spill over into other areas of his game."  You talk as if playing 3rd is as stressful as SS.  If you think it doesn't make a difference you never played the game. 

[ghostdrew]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

I also said not playing SS, because it is a high stress position.  My quote exactly was: "SS has to be the most high demand, stressful position on the field and for a career utility man to take over the SS position may be weighing on his whole game.  Stress in one area of a persons game definitely can spill over into other areas of his game."  You talk as if playing 3rd is as stressful as SS.  If you think it doesn't make a difference you never played the game. 

How is Ortiz a career utility guy 😂

[Brian]

17 minutes ago, ghostdrew said:

How is Ortiz a career utility guy 😂

Joey Ortiz's primary positions in his MLB career have been third baseman (3B), shortstop (SS), and second baseman (2B). He has played all three positions, primarily at 3B, SS and 2B with the Baltimore Orioles and the Milwaukee Brewers. 

[Team Canada]

6 hours ago, Stubby66 said:

Honestly I think they should already move Durbin to second, Turang to short and put Ortiz back at third

If there hadn't been concerns about Turang's arm that's where we'd be right now.

[BlightyBrew]

14 hours ago, Austin Tatious said:

Garrett Mitchell is another guy.  The guy has immense talent but sure looks like he needs a reset at AAA.  He’s just as lost and baffled as Ortiz is.  

Wondering if they might give Daz Cameron a shot.  Bit older but is really hitting with pop down in Nashville.  There would need to make room for him on the 40 man though.  DFA Collins and option him to AAA.

[PBTank]

I’d like to see them pick up Nicky Looez.  For now they could send Ortiz to AAA and go with a Capra / Lopez platoon.  If Capra doesn’t improve, release him and bring back Ortiz. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 hours ago, PBTank said:

I’d like to see them pick up Nicky Looez.  For now they could send Ortiz to AAA and go with a Capra / Lopez platoon.  If Capra doesn’t improve, release him and bring back Ortiz. 

Welcome to Brewer Fanatic!

[Snoebird]

18 hours ago, Stubby66 said:

Honestly I think they should already move Durbin to second, Turang to short and put Ortiz back at third. Turang is better at short, with Ortiz seemingly more comfortable at third which could help his hitting.  Durbin just doesn't seem to have the arm for third. Frankly I don't think Milwaukee should be scared of using Pratt at second even if he hasn't hit any over AA. Chourio did it this young along with Sheffield,  Yount, Molitor,  and Speiers. Now that being said only do this if he is willing to sign an extension like Chourio did to guarantee having h in his prime still. Otherwise go get Baty or Grissom 

Is getting married a good or bad thing for a player's confidence in his ability to earn a living? Ortiz got hitched and then went to spring training, where he saw the future at his position in Cooper Pratt. Notwithstanding the difference in their experience levels, Pratt carries himself like a veteran and is built like one. I expected to see more muscle on Ortiz, but apparently that's not happening. I think Ortiz's worst fears will be realized soon if he doesn't find a groove at the plate. As it stands, this makes the Corbin Burnes trade look like a bust for the Crew.

[ghostdrew]

2 hours ago, Snoebird said:

Is getting married a good or bad thing for a player's confidence in his ability to earn a living? Ortiz got hitched and then went to spring training, where he saw the future at his position in Cooper Pratt. Notwithstanding the difference in their experience levels, Pratt carries himself like a veteran and is built like one. I expected to see more muscle on Ortiz, but apparently that's not happening. I think Ortiz's worst fears will be realized soon if he doesn't find a groove at the plate. As it stands, this makes the Corbin Burnes trade look like a bust for the Crew.

How is burnes  pitching with Baltimore that's right he isn't there so to say we lost the trade is wrong bro

[Team Canada]

45 minutes ago, ghostdrew said:

How is burnes  pitching with Baltimore that's right he isn't there so to say we lost the trade is wrong bro

You could say the same thing in a less antagonistic way. Like, "Even if Ortiz isn't doing well this year, let's not forget that Burnes isn't even in Baltimore anymore, so calling this a bust is wrong in my view." Bonus points for using stats to back up your opinion - e.g., collective WAR of DL Hall and Ortiz vs Burnes' 2024 season.