The Brewers Are Right in Giving Joey Ortiz Another Chance

[Jack Stern]

Image courtesy of © Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

While Joey Ortiz may have tested his manager’s patience with his poor plate discipline throughout a trying 2025 season, the Brewers continued to give him a long leash as their everyday shortstop. It seems there’s still plenty of slack left on that leash, as president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said during last month’s Winter Meetings that the team remains confident in Ortiz’s upside.

The Brewers should remain open-minded about the position, but they shouldn’t feel a pressing need to upgrade. Even if Ortiz does not reach that perceived ceiling, he’s still a capable big-leaguer at a premium defensive position, and the organization’s long-term solution at shortstop could reach the majors within the next two seasons.

Even though his 67 wRC+ last year was the third-lowest among qualified hitters, Ortiz’s defense still made him worth 1.4 fWAR. His 0.3 bWAR was closer to replacement level because it was calculated using his -2 Defensive Runs Saved rather than his +10 Fielding Run Value, but given his defensive improvements throughout the summer, the latter seems to be a better preview of how valuable his glove will be this year.

To replace Ortiz, the Brewers would need to find a shortstop who is clearly better than him. The free agents in their price range wouldn’t move that needle; only the recently-signed Bo Bichette is projected by FanGraphs’ Depth Charts system for a higher 2026 fWAR than Ortiz’s 2.5.

Player	2025 fWAR	Projected 2026 fWAR
Joey Ortiz	1.4	2.5
Ha-Seong Kim (signed by ATL)	0.3	2.4
Willi Castro (signed by COL)	0.5	1.4
Miguel Rojas (signed by LAD)	1.7	0.6
Isiah Kiner-Falefa	0.7	0.5
Jon Berti	-0.4	0.5
Jose Iglesias	-0.2	0.4

Because even the worst version of Ortiz was still above replacement-level in 2025, he’s at least a capable holdover while the organization’s best shortstop prospects continue developing in the upper minors. Cooper Pratt appears poised to start the season in Triple-A, and Jesús Made seems to be on Jackson Chourio’s track of beginning his third professional season in Double-A and debuting in 2027.

It’s also possible that a reworked group of hitting coaches led by Eric Theisen gets Ortiz in a better hitting position. His strong 84.6% contact rate in 2025 indicated that his hit tool hadn’t disappeared. Most of his issues stemmed from timing; Ortiz had above-average bat speed, but he usually started his swing so late in a pitch’s trajectory that he rarely had a chance to extend his arms and get his barrel through the zone by the time he made contact.

Ortiz’s leash will expire eventually if he doesn’t significantly improve his offense, but he remains the Brewers’ best option at shortstop for now. Giving him another shot in 2026 is the right call.

View full article

[duewizard]

This is his make it or break it year. He either gets it together or he'll be replaced by Made/Pratt/someone else next season. I'm even in favour of giving Turang some reps in ST to see if he can handle it. His arm couldn't take it last year but maybe this time it will

[BarremlensTSSC]

Well.... ok, fine.  Jesus I hate it when Jack Stern detonates my very strongly held opinions.

[Sugarrayray]

My concern with Joey is that I fear he is just not a very bright individual. I really don’t mean that to be disrespectful and condescending, although it’s hard to say that without it coming off that way.

That said, the Brewers seem to like players (as do I) that tend to play smart baseball and make heady adjustments. Joey seems to be very talented instinctively, but when it comes to swing decisions I have rarely seen someone make such poor decisions. Maybe it has nothing to do with intelligence, and comes mores from something like anxiety or pressure. We obviously know not keeping those things in check can tank at bats.

Whatever the case, I have not seen another individual pass on so many balls down the pipe, and choose to swing at such horrid offerings. I just fear that is something that is not likely to be “fixed” if he couldn’t fix it over 500 plus plate appearances last year.

On the other hand, he has never looked the same at the plate since his neck injury mid 2024. So perhaps it is not mental and is more physiological. I am hoping for the best, but in the case of his offense, I am prepared for the worst - in the league :(

[Trail]

I want to see a competition for SS.  I just saw too many clueless, uncompetitive at bats last year...some in key situations.  I've lost a little faith in Joey.  You can point out his rookie year, but the league has figured him out and he has not adjusted.  I'm no expert, but it seems to me every time Monasterio gets consistent AB's, he performs well.  I think we saw some of that last year.  Ya...the defense isn't as good, but this team needs offense. 

[rafa79]

12 hours ago, Sugarrayray said:

My concern with Joey is that I fear he is just not a very bright individual. I really don’t mean that to be disrespectful

Wow, you said this politely but it's a real strong comment.  Moreover, I couldn't disagree more, Ortiz seems very bright to me.  

Normally when you call out a player or any individual when you think he is lacking in an area, it's best that you come up with multiple examples.  You haven't in your post.  Moreover, I can't think of one instance where Ortiz looked ....ignorant on a play or in the field.  I will say when he's been interviewed he's been articulate, quick to respond and analytical.  

[Turning2]

Pretty sure I heard league average batting average is around .235. In two seasons as a starter, he is just a tick over and below that. But to my eyes (I don't do metrics), he is among the top defensive SS in the league. Probably the best defensive SS they have in the organization (did not see Turang when playing SS in the minors however). Regardless, I think Ortiz' arm is stronger than Turang's. In limited games and highlights I've seen of Pratt, Made, Pena in the minors, none of them have wowed me yet. Ortiz' range, glove, arm wows me. Agree with a previous comment about he hasn't been the same at the plate since the neck injury. Maybe that explains the back half of '24. Last year he switched from 3B to SS. Possibly that extra pressure and responsibility affected his bat. Guys start pressing when they're slumping. It snowballs. Maybe that explains his offense and swing decisions from last year. Maybe not. Either way, I'm not ready to give up on him. If he could get to the .240+ range with a dozen HRs, and maintaining his defense I could live with that. If we get to June, he's healthy, and we see the same struggles, then I think we know what we need to know.

[nathanj42]

Yeah, pre-arb player former top 50 prospect that has a slightly above average ZiPs projection. FAs.... Kim signed for $20mm/1year and is already injured again. You had me at hello.

[jay87shot]

I think Ortiz deserves another shot, I think there is still enough of that prospect potential with the bat to hit like .275/280. Even though that is a big stretch from what we have seen, I do feel there is a path to that and if he can do that he is likely a 5 WAR player. With Mone aboard and Pratt in AAA I don't think I wouldn't give Ortiz a very long leash however, maybe like 100-150 abs before Mone takes over with a 2nd chance later in the year. 

[Turning2]

Surprising - I expected the comments to be much more “pitchfork and torches, get’em” flavored 

[Jim French Stepstool]

19 hours ago, Sugarrayray said:

 Maybe it has nothing to do with intelligence, and comes mores from something like anxiety or pressure. We obviously know not keeping those things in check can tank at bats.

 

This hits home with me. Without trying to analyze (or over-analyze) his swing & mechanics, It appeared to me Joey started out pull-happy, tried to compensate by waiting back & looking to go oppo & that made it worse--he was jammed easily & chased too much stuff off the plate. As mentioned, the swing decisions became pretty bad and yeah, I think the anxiety & pressure---"This offense is really rolling, except for YOU KNOW WHO"---really got to him.

You weren't going to invest in a FA SS with Pratt & Made in the wings. Starting the season out with Ortiz makes perfect sense. He's twenty-seven. The confidence given to him by penciling him in, countered by the challenges from the two mentioned above seems like a nice combination. We'll see how he deals with it.

[SmooveB330]

This article is based on the fallacy that the only options are keeping Joey at SS or signing a free agent SS.  There are at least two other options: trading for a SS or moving Turang to SS and signing or trading for a new 2B.  I wouldn't argue that keeping Ortiz makes more sense than signing any of the available lower-priced free agent SS, but I don't have any optimism that he'll ever be even a half-decent hitter, and with regression likely at other spots in the lineup they can't afford to have a guy with a 67 RC+ in the lineup every day.  I would have gladly made the trade that Pittsburgh made for Brandon Lowe and moved Turang to SS - whatever they lose defensively they would more than make up for in offense, which is going to be sorely needed this season IMO,.

[Team Canada]

3 hours ago, SmooveB330 said:

This article is based on the fallacy that the only options are keeping Joey at SS or signing a free agent SS.  There are at least two other options: trading for a SS or moving Turang to SS and signing or trading for a new 2B.  I wouldn't argue that keeping Ortiz makes more sense than signing any of the available lower-priced free agent SS, but I don't have any optimism that he'll ever be even a half-decent hitter, and with regression likely at other spots in the lineup they can't afford to have a guy with a 67 RC+ in the lineup every day.  I would have gladly made the trade that Pittsburgh made for Brandon Lowe and moved Turang to SS - whatever they lose defensively they would more than make up for in offense, which is going to be sorely needed this season IMO,.

Welcome!