The Milwaukee Brewers may have lost to the Houston Astros (one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball at the moment), but they are still in first place with a 26-18 record. They are currently two full games ahead of the Craig Counsell-led Cubs and six games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Milwaukee is also seven games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals and seven-and-a-half games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds.
The Brewers have accomplished their first place standing behind strong efforts from their relief pitching and the offensive contributions of many players. While veterans William Contreras (who may be a National League MVP candidate), Christian Yelich, and Willy Adames have all gotten off to good starts, it has been the team’s many young players that have filled in gaps in the lineup.
The Milwaukee Brewers Have a Stud in Rookie Joey Ortiz
Before spring training even began this year, the Brewers traded their ace, 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. In return, Milwaukee received left-handed pitcher DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz. Both made the Brewers’ Opening Day roster.
While Hall has struggled and been injured, Ortiz has thrived in Milwaukee. A recent hot streak at the plate has brought his season averages up to .296/.397/.561. He also has had a burst of power, and has five home runs and 15 RBI.
Ortiz spent the first part of the season sharing third base duties with Oliver Dunn. However, Dunn was recently sent down to Triple-A Nashville, which has given Ortiz more time on the field. While he primarily plays third base, he has also has played second base and shortstop.
With Adames being in a contract year, and with Milwaukee unlikely to be able to afford him next year, it is assumed that Ortiz could very well be the Brewers’ shortstop of the future.
MLB Analyst Predicts the Milwaukee Brewers Will Acquire Alex Bregman at the Trade Deadline
Despite Ortiz’s success this season, one MLB analyst believes that the Brewers could be in the market for a more experienced bat as the trade deadline draws near. In a recent article posted on Bleacher Report, Kerry Miller suggests that Milwaukee may make a move to acquire two-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion Alex Bregman.
Bregman, who is in the final year of his contract, is hitting far below his career averages of .272/.370/.482. So far this season, he has a woeful .228/.291/.358 slash line with four home runs and 19 RBI.
Why would the Brewers be interested in such a cold bat when Ortiz is playing so well? Miller writes:
“The Milwaukee Brewers have been platooning Joey Ortiz and Oliver Dunn at third base and should be interested in Bregman if they remain in the mix for the division crown. And the Chicago Cubs have been primarily playing Christopher Morel at third base, but they would make him the primary DH in half a heartbeat if they could put Bregman at the hot corner instead.”
Miller also notes that Bregman is on a sort of hot streak (he is hitting .400 with three home runs and six RBI in his last five games) and does his most damage after August. A trade for Bregman would benefit the Brewers in two ways. First, it would prevent their archrivals, the Cubs, from getting him and boosting their lineup.
Second, it would give Milwaukee another experienced World Series winning bat (Rhys Hoskins and William Contreras also have won championships with their previous teams,
Should the Brewers be able to trade for Bregman, they would likely be responsible for paying about one-third of his $30 million salary for the rest of the season.
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