Brewers’ Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for 2026: Third Base

[Harold Hutchison]

 

Caleb Durbin made the Devin Williams trade an easy win for the Brewers in 2025, eventually holding down the third base job and finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting. Like fellow top-5 vote-getter Isaac Collins, Durbin is now gone. The Brewers included him in a trade, along with cult hero Andruw Monasterio and utility player Anthony Seigler. That still leaves a few internal options for the Brewers at the hot corner.

How can that be? Let’s take a deeper dive.

2025 Review
Durbin was called up in the second half of April, after Oliver Dunn and Vinny Capra couldn’t hack it at the plate while holding down the hot corner and Tyler Black (who isn't really a third baseman, anyway) on the injured list with a hamate injury that sapped what little pop he'd previously had. Durbin posted 2.8 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference. That made him a solid starter.

Durbin was sent to the Red Sox for left-handed pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, as well as infielder David Hamilton, who was part of the package Milwaukee sent Boston for Hunter Renfroe before the 2022 season.

Current Roster Situation
The question is: how will Durbin be replaced? On the 40-man roster and among the NRIs, Black, Cooper Pratt, and Jett Williams are all one-time or current top-100 prospects in MLB. They all have the potential to produce similarly, on the offensive side, to Durbin, though Black's prospect status is now much more suspect and the other two might not be ready just yet. This doesn’t include other contenders, like Eddys Leonard, Eduardo Garcia, Brock Wilken, Luke Adams, and Jesus Made, though of course, some of those guys aren't ready (or have very low ceilings) themselves. Hamilton has seen limited action at third base in the majors, but he has flashed some offensive upside in the past and might be the best defender in this group.

Deeper in the minors, the Brewers have Andrew Fischer, Mike Boeve, Eric Bitonti, Juan Baez, Filippo di Turi, and Luis Pena as potential rapid risers. All have featured potent bats in one form or another during their professional careers. It's a deep position in a deep organization. It's just the immediate future about which there's tremendous uncertainty.

Best-Case Scenario
A Top 100 prospect replaces Durbin at third base out of spring training. This is not because Hamilton is a horrible player; he's probably better than Monasterio. But if Williams or (less likely) Pratt can keep Hamilton securely on the bench, the Brewers' offense probably ends up being much more potent, which could make a difference in October.

Pratt is a minor-league Gold Glove winner who is a natural shortstop, but may not be long for that position due to the presence of Made. Pratt’s offensive profile offers OBP skills and a bit more natural pop than Durbin had. Williams, who is about Durbin’s size, brings a much more dynamic offensive profile, albeit at the price of more strikeouts and greater questions about the bat-to-ball skills. His versatility may make him a more viable super-sub option than starter.

Worst-Case Scenario
The team eschews an external upgrade to replace Durbin, but none of the above-mentioned cadre of guys pan out. In a panic, the team turns back to Joey Ortiz at third base, or is forced to disrupt the development of Williams or Pratt by pressing them into service before they're ready. The infield defense and the lineup suffer, leaving the front office to scramble for a trade to address the problem in June or July.

Overview
There are a number of ways for third base to go nightmarishly wrong, at this moment. Trading Durbin was a calculated but substantial risk, unless the team has another move up their sleeves. But the Brewers boast a lot of good options at third base for 2027 and beyond, and that’s a nice position to be in. If someone proves ready a year early or they go patch the position in the final weeks of the offseason, so much the better.

 

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[Playing Catch]

Not to turn this into a Tyler Black-like height thing, but there's no way Pratt only has 2" on Made based on that photo.

[Snoebird]

32 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

Not to turn this into a Tyler Black-like height thing, but there's no way Pratt only has 2" on Made based on that photo.

That would be Luis Lara, not Made. 

[Stubby66]

The Brewers should make thirdbase and short and open competition between Pratt, Fischer, Boeve, Black, Wilken, Ortiz and Williams period. If young guys show something in ST then they get it. Yes I get Boeve and Black defense isn't gold glove but it isn't bad either. Honestly with Mitchell, Chourio and Frelick defense I would trade Perkins and keep Black up. Murph has to really give him a shot and quit holding a grudge against especially when they give Ortiz such a long leash. I personally think that Fischer and Made will be up by August if they earn it.

[Snoebird]

18 hours ago, Stubby66 said:

The Brewers should make thirdbase and short and open competition between Pratt, Fischer, Boeve, Black, Wilken, Ortiz and Williams period. If young guys show something in ST then they get it. Yes I get Boeve and Black defense isn't gold glove but it isn't bad either. Honestly with Mitchell, Chourio and Frelick defense I would trade Perkins and keep Black up. Murph has to really give him a shot and quit holding a grudge against especially when they give Ortiz such a long leash. I personally think that Fischer and Made will be up by August if they earn it.

The Brewers have been doing what you suggested at third base ever since Travis Shaw wore out his welcome. Last year, Vinny Capra hit something like eight home runs in spring training and won the opening day start before failing. They also have had Jace Peterson and Andruw Monasterio make opening day starts, and spent a lot of time on Oliver Dunn and Brian Anderson at third. I would include Eddys Leonard in this year's spring training derby and downplay Tyler Black, whose specialty thus far has been drawing walks. 

[PBTank]

I have a feeling that Leonard will get the nod to start the season as the starting 3B.  It will come down to how all the possible options perform during spring training.  Leonard could hold the spot until one of the prospects (Wilkins, Adams, Pratt, Williams...) show they are ready at AAA.  Much like what they did with Durbin last year.  There wouldn't be a huge loss if Leonard doesn't do well like Capra and they have to DFA him.  The interesting part will be how they divide up the reps at 3B at AAA giving those players a good look at the position.

With the pending 2027 season (lockout), I can't see the Brewers bringing up Made or Fischer in 2026.  Not knowing how 2027 pans out, I wouldn't want to waste a year of service for those two if only 40 games are played.  No sense in starting the clock on them.  Plus, who knows how the CBA will shake out regarding how long teams have control of players.  Too big of an unknown.

[Ron750]

Seems like a hope and a prayer for an important position. They had to try seven players last year. I hope they have a better plan this year.