The Milwaukee Brewers are returning many of the core players that helped them win 93 games and their second consecutive National League Central Division title in 2024. Additionally, they are getting two important players, outfielder Christian Yelich and right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff, back from injury. Yelich was limited to 75 games last season, but hit .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, and 21 stolen bases before his year halted due to back surgery.
Woodruff is going to return at some point this season after missing all of last season (and most of 2023) with a shoulder injury. The exact date of his return will be determine by how well he recovers from his bullpen sessions.
Unfortunately, however, the Brewers face the reality of trying to be serious contenders again without Willy Adames, who hit .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, and 21 stolen bases for Milwaukee last year. Earlier this offseason, he signed a seven-year $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.
The Milwaukee Brewers May Move Joey Ortiz to Shortstop
With Adames now playing for the Giants, the Brewers need to figure out who will play shortstop for them. It appears, at least according to owner Mark Attanasio, that the plan is for Joey Ortiz to slide over from third base.
“Maybe third base, but we want to give Tyler Black a shot and Ollie Dunn, and [Joey] Ortiz can slide over. So there was no space to fill. Yeah, there’s always room for starting pitching, but that’s quite expensive, and we want to see what some of these young guys can do.”
Of course, Ortiz was originally acquired by the Brewers in the Corbin Burnes trade, and it may have been with this move in mind. He was a shortstop in the Baltimore Orioles organization, and it was pretty obvious to most that the plan was for him to take over there when Adames left.
MLB Analyst Dubs Milwaukee Brewers Infielders Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang the Best Defensive Pairing in Baseball
Ortiz hit .239/.329/.398 with 11 home runs, 60 RBI, and 11 stolen bases as a rookie playing primarily third base for Milwaukee in 2024. While his bat may lack the power that Adames had, though, he was an impressive defensive infielder, a key contributor to the unit that won the all-around Gold Glove, and a player many feel was snubbed for the third base Gold Glove Award.
Moving to his natural position at shortstop makes total sense, though, and combining him there with Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winner Brice Turang at second gives Milwaukee a formidable defense in the middle of the infield.
Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors even has already dubbed them the best defensive pairing in all of baseball:
“A middle-infield tandem of Ortiz and Turang might be the best defensive pairing in all of baseball.”
Adams notes that this will be important to the Brewers this season as Rhys Hoskins is a below-average defender at first base and the team has yet to name a third baseman.
The best part, though, is that both Turang and Ortiz are still in their pre-arbitration seasons, which means they will be providing Gold Glove caliber defense in Milwaukee for years to come.
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