Brewers Facing Complicated Situation With Joey Ortiz

"In Jesús Made, Cooper Pratt and Jett Williams, Milwaukee's future at both shortstop and third base is extremely bright. But rather than rushing any of those prospects to the show, it sure would be fantastic for the Brewers if Ortiz could start hitting like he did in 2024," Miller wrote.

"He had a .726 OPS that season, predominantly playing third base beside Willy Adames. Since shifting from the hot corner to shortstop at the beginning of 2025, though, he has been a disaster at the plate, presently sitting on a .505 OPS while splitting time with David Hamilton."

Ortiz is hitting just .202 this season with one home run and 11 RBI. He ia also reaching base at just a .263 clip and slugging just .247.

Ortiz came over from the Baltimore Orioles in the Corbin Burnes trade, and with the way he was hitting that year, it appeared that the Brewers had won the deal, especially since Burnes was in the final year of his contract.

However, since then, the Brewers have not gotten much out of their shortstop, and with a lot of prospects waiting in the wings, it may not be long before the Brewers decide to pull the plug on Ortiz and give somebody else a chance to prove themselves.

Williams was picked up from the New York Mets in the Peralta trade, so he could be next in line to play shortstop if Ortiz doesn't come out of his funk soon. But the Brewers are also high on Pratt and Made, so those are other options.

It will be interesting to see what Ortiz can do, but time is running out for him to make an impression and lock down the starting shortstop job.