Despite being one of the deepest teams in baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers still have some holes in the lineup — particularly at third base. The position has been filled by committee since the trade that sent Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox, and while that trade has still been a net positive between Kyle Harrison's breakout campaign and the growth of David Hamilton, it still left the team with some questions to answer all year long.
Thankfully for them, multi-positional infielderJoe y Ortiz appears ready to answer the call. As first shared by Thomas Nestico, a.k.a. @TJStats, he already ranks No. 3 on the list of leaders in Outs Above Average among third basemen (+5) despite playing just 20 games officially listed at that position. This places him ahead of his former teammate in Durbin (+4) in 77 starts, only trailing José RamÃrez and Manny Machado (+6) at the position.
And that's not all — he's getting it done as a batter as well. In his first 10 games since officially moving over to the position in early July, Joey Ortiz has posted a .306 batting average with 2 HRs for an .806 OPS in that stretch, making him one of the biggest impact players at the position.
Joey Ortiz might be the answer the Milwaukee Brewers have been looking for at third base.
Although it's hard to say whether this success will hold up, it clearly signals that the Brewers are in good hands with Ortiz at third base for the time being, which gives the team significant positional flexibility to manage injuries and usage down the stretch of the regular season.
This is a significant shift from his early-season woes, as Ortiz batted .184 through his first 30 games of the 2026 season. Whether it be his confidence, the newfound position, or something in between, Ortiz is coming along at the right time for a Brewers team that's starting to lose some of its early-season momentum as a group.
Now in his fourth year in the majors and third in Milwaukee, defense has rarely been a concern for Ortiz. His glove is as sure as it gets, and his deceptive speed makes him a tricky opponent, regardless of whether he's slotted in at third base or shortstop. But now that he's returning to his full capabilities as an offensive player, Ortiz has a legitimate shot to be the next major impact player to emerge for the Brewers — even if it took a little while to get there.
Trading Durbin was a calculated risk that's seeming to pay off for the Brewers thus far. Although he's putting together a solid campaign himself, the Brewers feel great about their acquisition and development of Harrison in that trade. Now that they have a more solidified answer as to who will shoulder that vacant workload at third base, it's even clearer that they won the trade.
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