The Milwaukee Brewers have a firm foundation of young stars that will help the team be contenders for the foreseeable future. Jackson Chourio, of course, is signed for the next seven-to-nine years and his coming off of a rookie season that saw him become the youngest player in MLB history to have a 20-20 season. Young stars like Joey Ortiz, Brice Turang, and Tobias Myers are also noteworthy young players that are already key contributors to the team.
But the Brewers, like every team in MLB, needs to have veterans to fill out their roster. They already have key pieces in place like Christian Yelich, William Contreras, and Freddy Peralta. However, there are still holes on the roster that need to be filled before the start of the 2025.
One of these is [probably] at third base.
Why Do the Milwaukee Brewers Need a Third Baseman?
Last season, Ortiz turned out to be Milwaukee’s everyday third baseman after an early season competition/platoon with Oliver Dunn. The rookie infielder, who was acquired by the Brewers in the Corbin Burnes trade last winter, ended up hitting .239/.329/.398 with 11 home runs, 60 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.
In 1,098.1 innings at third base, Ortiz committed only 10 errors and had a fielding percentage of .971. Indeed, he was one of the best defensive third baseman in all of baseball and should have been a Gold Glove finalist at the position.
What made Ortiz’s performance at the hot corner all the more impressive is the fact that third base is not his natural position. He came up through the Baltimore Orioles organization as a shortstop, but was moved to third by Milwaukee because Willy Adames was entrenched at this natural position.
But Adames, of course, is gone now, having signed a seven-year $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. His departure opens the door for either Ortiz or Turang to move to shortstop, and manager Pat Murphy has stated he would prefer to keep Turang at second base where he won a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove in 2024.
This would mean, of course, that Ortiz is on track to move to shortstop, which would create a need at third base.
The Milwaukee Brewers Could Sign Free Agent Third Baseman Justin Turner
A little over a week ago, the Brewers traded two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams to the New York Yankees for Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin.
While Durbin can play both second and third base, walks more than he strikes out, and just set the Arizona Fall League record for stolen bases (29 in 24 games), he has not yet made his Major League debut. Of course, Milwaukee proved last season that they are more than willing to take rookies with little or no Big League experience onto their Opening Day roster, but Durbin is far from guaranteed a spot.
Should the Brewers look to the free agent market for a stopgap player at the hot corner, they could look at former World Series Champion Justin Turner.
Of possibly pursuing Turner, Patrick McAvoy of Sports Illustrated wrote, “The Brewers do seem to be set in the infield right now — barring a trade involving someone like Rhys Hoskins — but could use a boost at designated hitter. Turner could be that guy. He’s been a great hitter throughout his career and also has been an even better clubhouse guy.”
The problem, especially for a team as young as the Brewers, is that Turner will be 40 years old in 2025. That being said, he had a solid season last year for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, hitting .259/.354/.383 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI. In 2023, playing for the Boston Red Sox, he hit .276/.345/.455 with 23 home runs and 96 RBI.
As Turner is most certainly on the back nine of his career, he will not be very expensive in free agency. As McAvoy wrote, the Brewers do need to address designated hitter, as Gary Sanchez has signed with the Orioles this offseason.
Milwaukee also needs to at least try to replace the clubhouse leadership they lost when Adames left for San Francisco. Turner could help in that department, too.
More Milwaukee Brewers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Milwaukee Brewers: Trading Tyler Black Could Be a Costly Mistake
- Milwaukee Brewers Trade Rhys Hoskins to Division Rival in Wild Proposal
- Former Milwaukee Brewers LHP Hoby Milner Signs with His Hometown Team
- Milwaukee Brewers Add Another LHP to the Organization
- Colin Rea Opens Up About Dismissal from the Milwaukee Brewers and Current Free Agent Interest
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