Exploring Brewers' Weaknesses Ahead of 2025 MLB Trade Deadline: Shortstop and Third Base

The left side of the Brewers infield was their greatest offensive weakness over the first two months of the season. Third baseman Caleb Durbin and shortstop Joey Ortiz were both well below the league average in pretty much every major statistical category. Ortiz (.489) had the worst OPS in the majors in the month of May. Durbin’s OPS (.561) wasn’t much better. The two positions combined for a whopping two home runs all month, both courtesy of Ortiz. 

Don’t look now, though: both players have picked up the pace drastically. Since June 1, Ortiz (.748) and Durbin (.795) each have an above-average OPS.

Ortiz has completely revamped his approach and looks reborn at the plate. For more on him, check out Matthew Trueblood’s article here. Durbin is hitting .296 since June 1, providing a consistent spark from the bottom third of the order. He started out pretty hot after being called up from Triple-A Nashville in mid-April, hitting .263 with eight RBIs in twelve games. May was rough, but—as detailed here—Durbin also seems to have figured out an approach that works for him. 

Ortiz and Durbin have both proven they are viable options for a team that figures to contend for the division title. Despite that, the Brewers would still benefit from a third player that they can plug into the left side of the infield, for two reasons.

Firstly, Ortiz and Durbin are both hitting for a high average, but their power numbers are somewhat lacking. Durbin has just four home runs all season and is slugging .361, significantly below this year’s league average of .398. Ortiz has six home runs, although four have come in the last week. He's now on pace to end the season somewhere around last year's total (11). 

The reality is that neither player will probably ever hit home runs at an above-average clip. Ortiz and Durbin both rank in the bottom 20% at their respective positions, unless we limit our scope to the six weeks or so since they each heated up. Ortiz still sports the third-worst OPS in the entire league, even after his recent hot streak.

It would be one thing if Milwaukee could make up for a lack of home runs throughout the rest of the lineup, but this year’s team doesn’t have a lot of players who hit the long ball. As a team, Milwaukee ranks 22nd in home runs. Christian Yelich leads the Crew in homers, with 16, tied for 26th in the league. Other than Yelich, Jackson Chourio (13), and Rhys Hoskins (12), no other Brewer has more than six home runs this season. The main appeal of a trade candidate such as Eugenio Suárez (26 home runs on the season) would be adding a home-run threat to an offense that often lacks that dimension.

Second, both Ortiz and Durbin have been pretty bad all season against right-handed pitchers. Durbin’s OPS against righties (.632) is over 200 points lower than his OPS against lefties (.867). Ortiz’s splits are less drastic, but his OPS is still over 100 points lower (.534, compared to .644 against lefties).

Since Ortiz’s splits are less severe, and he’s more valuable on defense, platooning him might not make a ton of sense for Milwaukee. However, platooning Durbin with another third base option—one who could hit righties as well as Durbin hits leftie— might get the best out of both players, and therefore the left side of the infield. Durbin’s .867 OPS against left-handers would rank 20th in the entire league.

Apart from external trade candidates, one potential internal option for the Brewers is new call-up Anthony Seigler, who made his major-league debut at third base in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the New York Mets. 

His splits at Triple-A Nashville are hilarious, to put it frankly. Seigler’s OPS (.960) against righties is over double his OPS against lefties (.445). He’s hit each of his seven home runs this season off right-handed pitchers. To paraphrase Moneyball, why trade for Suárez (.888 OPS) when you can recreate him in the aggregate?

Seigler’s been a switch-hitter his entire career, but recently started hitting lefty against left-handers, as well as righties. It’s possible that the change will allow him to hit lefties better, allowing him to occasionally spell William Contreras at catcher as the veteran continues to play through a broken finger. At third base, though, why even bother with Seigler against lefties? Durbin’s been hitting left-handers extremely well; there’s no point in benching him against a lefty for Seigler. A platoon very well could be the way to get the best out of both players. A trade is certainly possible, but not urgently necessary, thanks to the trends from each incumbent and an intriguing in-house complementary option.