One Veteran Infield Free Agent the Brewers Can Still Pursue for 2025

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Gasper | Last updated Feb 8, 2025 7:24 PM ET

The Milwaukee Brewers entered this offseason knowing they would have to fill a void in their infield with Willy Adames becoming a free agent and seeking a long term deal. San Francisco ultimately gave Adames that deal and the Brewers haven't done much to replace him.

Granted, they have two ready-made replacements at shortstop already on the roster with Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz. The Brewers didn't need to have a ton of urgency to bring in a new shortstop to replace Adames. However, moving one of Turang or Ortiz to short would create a new vacancy at their old positions, second or third base.

The Brewers acquired some infield help with the addition of Caleb Durbin in the Devin Williams trade. There's a lot of reasons to like Durbin and he could potentially be a good player, but he has yet to make his MLB debut. The youth movement Milwaukee has gone through in recent years has made them comfortable with putting rookies in big spots, but there's still room for a veteran infield addition.

Paul DeJong would be a good fit on the Brewers roster

Now that we're days away from the opening of spring training, there aren't many options still left on the free agent market, but there is one that would be a good fit for the Brewers roster, shortstop Paul DeJong.

DeJong has had quite the offensive decline from his first few seasons in St. Louis, but he's coming off a decent season at the plate, can play shortstop and third base, and has a ton of MLB experience under his belt. He'd be a great veteran presence on the left side of a very young Brewers infield.

DeJong slugged 24 home runs last year. One of the questions with Adames' departure has been how will the Brewers replace Adames' power and production in the lineup. DeJong's power would go a long way towards helping with that.

The Brewers would add a right handed power bat that could play just about everyday if needed, but also could fit in a part-time role as Milwaukee tries to give opportunities to their youngsters. Last year, DeJong played in 139 games.

With Ortiz likely sliding over to shortstop, the third base depth right now looks like Caleb Durbin, Oliver Dunn, and Andruw Monasterio, plus potentially Tyler Black. There's not a ton of potential upside there, and certainly not a ton of power among that group at a traditionally power-hitting position.

DeJong would be available on a cheap, one year contract. He wouldn't be a long-term solution, but he can help bridge the gap to the upcoming corner infield prospects while also providing some insurance in case Durbin and Dunn don't work out.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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