Now That Brewers Have Committed to an Infield Plan, It's Time to Make It Viable

Now that the alignment of Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang around the Brewers infield (most days, at least) has been settled, the open question is how playing time will shake out at third base—and whether Oliver Dunn and Caleb Durbin are really up to the job. Last year, Dunn's audition for the job went poorly, though Pat Murphy acknowledged this spring that they put the young Dunn in a series of difficult situations. He had to be sent to the minors, then got hurt and missed the entire second half. 

On the other hand, Durbin (a right-handed batter) won't enjoy the platoon advantage as often as Dunn does. The biggest question might be not whether either can cut the mustard offensively (a platoon, however imperfect, could get them over that line easily enough), but how they can combine to form a defensive third baseman who maintains the fielding excellence that is such an indispensable part of the team's identity. Dunn is a strong fielder, but not yet a fully polished one. He's still only played 573 innings at third in his pro career. Durbin has almost exactly the same amount of professional experience there, but hasn't played well at the spot this spring. He's looked much better at second; that was part of why it took so long for the team to commit to sewing up the middle infield with Ortiz and Turang.

When rigorous measurements were taken this spring to prepare for the use of the automated ball/strike challenge system, both Dunn (now 5-foot-11) and Durbin (now 5-foot-7) actually came in an inch taller than they had been listed previously, but neither is the big, long type of third baseman who can take up space just by virtue of shortening up in their positioning and using lunges and dives to cut the ball off. They're both built much more like Ortiz, whose height also increased (5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10) as of Monday but who is on the compact and quick side, and who thrived last year by playing deeper at third base than any other regular at the position—except fellow diminutive dynamo José Ramírez.

The deeper one plays at third, the more similar it is to the middle infield positions. There are times when that's not an option, because it's important to be in position for a force play at third or to guard against the bunt, but most of the time, a fielder can choose whether to play more shallow and cut down the range of angles to which the ball has time to scatter before reaching them, or to play deeper and use their speed and agility to track the ball down, even if it takes an extra step or two.

Playing deeper is the more intuitive way for a transplanted second baseman to make things work, but there are drawbacks to it, too. The ball is taking longer to get to you, and you're farther from first base when it finally does, so you have to utilize quick hands and have a strong enough arm for that approach to work. Nick Madrigal, who is even smaller (the same height, but not as sturdily built) than Durbin, moved to third base for the Cubs in 2023, and he turned out to be a brilliant defender there—but, surprisingly, he played shallower than almost any other third baseman. His arm was too weak to allow him to wait for the ball. Instead, he drilled hard on coming in to collect even medium-speed grounders, getting his momentum going toward his eventual target and not waiting back for the ball.

Durbin might need to adopt that approach in the short term, because he's looked especially uneasy when he's needed to charge slowly hit grounders this spring. Eventually, though, to be a viable defender there, he should play deeper. His arm is strong enough to make things work, and hard-hit balls have handcuffed him when he's been positioned at a traditional third-base depth. It should be easier to develop that comfort coming in an extra step to collect the ball and making the same quick transfers to which he was accustomed at second base than to soften his hands on those hot shots at close quarters.

Ortiz favored not only playing deep, but (against righties) guarding the line, even more than most third basemen. That meant that he rarely had to field a ball with his momentum carrying him across the foul line. If he had to field a grounder on the run, it was to his left, which made for an easier throw. Both Dunn and Durbin have mimicked that pattern this spring, which figures to continue. So far, neither is showing a marked tendency toward playing deeper or shallower than most of the league, though they lean toward the deeper side. Again, given that taller and slower third basemen tend to play shallower and smaller, quicker ones tend to play deeper, that makes sense.

If the intensive instruction he'll continue to receive takes root, look for Durbin to play deeper as he gets more established at third. Dunn is already fine there; his adjustments will be less noticeable, but even more important, since he figures to get more of the playing time over the first month or two than Durbin. The Brewers didn't find a perfect solution this spring at third, but in Dunn and Durbin, they have a good enough one to round out a superb infield. It might just take more innings for each to settle into the gig.