Milwaukee Brewers: Three Options For Third Base In 2021
According to Jon Heyman, the Milwaukee Brewers were recently linked to Justin Turner and offered the same deal to him as the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Turner decided to stay with the Dodgers.
Now that Turner is no longer an option, one of the biggest question marks the Brewers have: What will they decide to do at third base?
With an infield that will consist of Manny Piña and Omar Narvaez behind the plate, Keston Hiura at first, Kolten Wong at second, and Orlando Arcia at shortstop, third base is the only spot yet to be filled. With the start of Spring Training in less than two weeks, let’s look at three potential ways the Brewers can fill the hole over at third base.
Outside Help for the Milwaukee Brewers
The good news for the Milwaukee Brewers is that there are still some decent third basemen yet to be signed. The bad news is that the available free agents have all recently had bad years, and the Brewers will have to bank on a bounce-back year from any of these newcomers.
There is the familiar face of Travis Shaw, who after a horrid 2019 season was granted free agency and then signed a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Shaw had a better but not great 2020 campaign where he put up a .717 OPS.
Other options include Maikel Franco and Jake Lamb, who both had their ups and downs in recent years. After fantastic 2016 and 2017 seasons, Lamb has greatly struggled since. All of these options will most likely be fairly cheap, but the Brewers will have to bank on upside rather than recent performance if they pursue these options.
Bring Back Jedd Gyorko
Jedd Gyorko was one of the only offensive bright spots for the Brewers in 2020. Gyorko slashed .248/.333/.504, good for an OPS of .838 along with 9 home runs in 135 plate appearances. Although Gyorko primarily played first base last season with the Brewers, he has plenty of experience playing third base.
Gyorko has never been a fantastic defender at third, but he has been able to hold his own at the hot corner. Gyorko will most likely still be fairly cheap, so bringing back arguably the Brewers’ best offensive player from 2020 is a realistic option.
Rely on internal options
The final option the Milwaukee Brewers have is to simply rely on their internal options. 23-year-old Luis Urias can play third base along with basically any other infield position. Although Urias lacks pop, he can get on base at an above-average level and can play good defense.
With just a few years removed from being a top 30 prospect in the league, it could be worthwhile to give Urias a full year in the big leagues and see what he can do. He has had great success in the minor leagues, so it might be time to see if that success can be translated to the major league level over a full season.
Additionally, the Brewers recently signed Daniel Robertson to a one-year deal. Robertson had a good 2018 campaign with the Tampa Bay Rays but struggled in 2019 and hardly played in 2020. A Urias/Robertson platoon has some potential upside, so staying put with internal options is definitely worth considering.
Next. Brewers Sign RHP Brad Boxberger to Minor League Deal. dark
If I were making the call, I’d stay put with Robertson and Urias and spend the remaining money on pitching. My second choice would be to bring back Gyorko at a reasonable deal. None of the outside help really excites me. Regardless of what the Brewers do, it should be a fun 2021 season in what should hopefully be a competitive NL Central. Let me know what you think the Brewers should do at third base.