Luis Rengifo Has Started Slowly. Will He Keep Getting Chances to Get Up to Speed?

[rstuedem945]

Image courtesy of © Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Brewers didn’t make a lot of veteran additions to the major-league club during the offseason. One of the more surprising moves they did make was a trade with the Red Sox, sending starting third baseman Caleb Durbin to Boston. Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler were also part of the deal, leaving many to wonder who the primary third baseman would be. That question was answered a few days after the trade was announced, with former Los Angeles Angels infielder Luis Rengifo signing a one-year deal with Milwaukee with a mutual option for 2027. Rengifo brought experience, with 199 career appearances at the hot corner and 567 2/3 innings there last year, and had been an above-average hitter from 2022-2024, before having a down year in 2025. Many assumed he would be the starting third baseman on Opening Day, given his significant previous playing time at the position.

That wasn’t the case, though. David Hamilton, acquired in the Durbin trade, drew the start against the White Sox. Hamilton ended up going 1-2 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a walk, while Rengifo came in to pinch-hit for Joey Ortiz in the 6th inning and ended up going 0-2.

Over the first six games, Rengifo looked rough. He only managed two singles and two walks over his first 15 trips to the plate. He broke through this weekend with three hits—all doubles—in Kansas City, but that still leaves his OPS at .628. His bat speed is unimpressive (especially from the left side) and he's hitting the ball on the ground too much.

While his performance is not encouraging, let's look at the bright side for a second. He contributed to the Brewers’ remarkable 8th-inning comeback against the White Sox, taking a four-seam fastball from Seranthony Dominguez back up the middle past a diving Colson Montgomery to plate two runs and move the tying run to third base. Christian Yelich’s pinch-hit home run is the best moment of the Brewers’ season so far, so give Rengifo some props for getting the inning to that point.

One of his doubles this weekend was in garbage time, but the other two were important, and required both solid contact and hustle out of the box. The stocky Rengifo doesn't run especially well, but he gets moving quickly and made second on two balls that other players with his speed might have allowed to become long singles. One ball didn't quite split the gap in left-center, but Rengifo took advantage of center fielder Kyle Isbel having to go a long way to cut it off there.

The other was hit down the line, but cut off well shy of the corner by left fielder Nick Loftin. Taking initiative (and benefiting from a momentary distraction, with Brice Turang heading for third and deciding not to head home), though, Rengifo just beat a good throw. 

Both Pat Murphy and the front office like hustle and smarts. They also like contact and plate discipline, which Rengifo has shown so far. Well-applied, those things can make up for a dearth of athleticism or power. It took a while, but Rengifo gave a glimpse of that over the weekend—perhaps just in time, with Hamilton's better defense and speed (plus the fact that he bats left-handed) threatening to marginalize Rengifo in short order.

That's a question the Brewers will try to answer at the hot corner all year: can they unlock something within either Rengifo or Hamilton? Hamilton was picked by Murphy to take a “quantum leap”, while Milwaukee will try to reset Rengifo to his offensive output from his time with the Angels. The interesting thing to watch will be what the split is like going forward, which will probably continue to depend mostly on matchups—but which will certainly also be influenced by the two players' production. Rengifo showed up against the Royals, but the depth of this roster means you have to keep showing up to keep getting chances.

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[jay87shot]

I mean he is 5/23 in 5 games, if he goes 2/4 the next game that puts him like .260. He isn't setting the world on fire but he isn't playing bad. 3rd base defense has been pretty good unless I have missed a play here or there. I like the Hamilton/Ortiz/Rengifo 3 way split between SS and 3B for now. Hopefully in a couple months one of Pratt or Jett can get hot and push one of those 3 (probably Rengifo) out.

[dsid74]

He has hit into some bad luck too.  I can think of at least 2 line drives snared by the 2B that looked like they were going to be hits. 

Don't know what the metrics say, but he is passing the eye test at 3B.

So far, it looks like a good signing.  

[Snoebird]

Rengifo's right-handedness is pretty important with the Brewers lacking Chourio and Vaughn.  That might not be the case in a month. So, he has about a month to earn his keep. 

[wallus]

He sticks out like a sore thumb with his approach at the plate. He swings at a lot of non strikes and seems to hit it up the middle all of the time. We will see if the team can work with him this season.

[Harold Hutchison]

Over his last three games, Rengifo's had four hits in 15 at-bats - all of them doubles. I think some of it has been bad luck, but from what I've seen to date, he's getting some good contact.

Hamilton's been an OBP/speed machine for the team.

If there is someone who should be the "odd guy out," I'd say it's Ortiz. He's not been horrible, but his OPS (.591) is lower than Rengifo's.