How 'Third Base Joey' found his swing again for the Milwaukee Brewers

The writing was on the wall for Joey Ortiz and the Milwaukee Brewers. He knew it. The team knew he knew it. So, a while back after the team signed his eventual replacement at shortstop to an extension, he sat down and addressed what it meant. 

More importantly, the Brewers wanted to make it clear what it didn’t mean.

With Ortiz struggling offensively going all the way back to the second half of 2024 and Cooper Pratt knocking on the door as the incumbent shortstop long-term in Milwaukee, the Brewers wanted to reassert to Ortiz their belief in him because of his defensive abilities while he figures the bat out. 

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“We gave him some examples of players,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. 

The primary name Murphy put in front of him: Miguel Rojas. 

“The kid from the Dodgers, he has a similar path,” Murphy said. “Couldn’t break through and got a cup of coffee, couldn’t break through. Got a chance to play every day with the Marlins. Then toward the end of his career he’s a relied-on guy both offensively and defensively because he learned what he needs to do successfully.” 

BOX SCORE: Brewers 4, Mets 3

Dig into the numbers and the comparison is quite apt. 

Rojas broke into the majors at age 25 as a middle infielder with the Dodgers, was traded to a new team the following year and produced, then struggled badly the next year before finding his footing and providing steady value as a defender despite inconsistent offense. 

Ortiz broke into the majors at age 24 with the Orioles, was traded to a new team the following year and produced, then struggled badly the next year. Could he be finding his footing now? 

With a near-cycle during a 3-for-3 showing in the Brewers’ 4-3 win over the New York Mets on July 22, Ortiz upped his numbers over his last six games to .373 batting average/.429 on-base percentage/.667 slugging percentage (19 for 51) with three homers, four doubles and a triple.  

“It’s a lot of hard work in the cages,” Ortiz said. “It’s good that it’s showing up on the field. I’m only worried about winning ballgames. To be able to produce and help the team in that aspect is a good thing.” 

This version of Ortiz, after a year and two months in which he was the fourth-worst hitter in baseball with at least 500 plate appearances, is reminiscent of the player the Brewers got out of the gates from Baltimore in 2024. That player goes by a different name in some corners of the Brewers clubhouse. 

“I love 'Third Base Joey,'” closer Trevor Megill said. 

Ortiz, indeed, has performed better since shifting over to the hot corner, batting .284/.325/.506 since Pratt’s call-up in June. He’s also been worth three defensive runs saved and a whopping five outs above average.

“There’s just good juju over at third,” Megill said. “He looks great over there, huh?”

There’s far more to Ortiz’s relocated success than sliding over a spot on the diamond. 

His manager points to a newfound confident demeanor in the batter’s box, one without the burden of having to try to produce as the everyday shortstop. 

“I really believe – and we all say this all the time – in confidence,” Murphy said. “When a guy starts to believe. He’s just in a good, free space. Just like, ‘Hey, whatever they’re gonna deal me, whatever cards, I’m going to go play and have fun.’ I’m really happy for the person.”

On the whole, Ortiz’s swing decisions have improved marginally this year and he also ran into some tough luck early in the year. Between March and the end of June, Ortiz’s expected wOBA – which takes into account the exit velocity and launch angle of each batted ball rather than the outcome – ran 33 points behind his actual wOBA. 

“Even in the beginning of the year, I feel my swings were good,” he said. “Sometimes baseball goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s going my way right now.”

That was the case in the bottom of the second on July 22, when he send a deep fly ball to right. Ortiz hit it well at 96.3 mph, but it should have been caught at the warning track. Instead, Brett Baty misread the spin and it fell for a two-run triple. 

Ortiz followed with a single in his next at-bat, then a double to move within a home run of a cycle. When he stepped to bat in the eighth, he admitted it was on his mind, but apparently not too much as he drew a walk.

“He played a whole game,” Murphy said. “A complete game. Great defense, stole a base, took a walk. He was great.”

The defense, long Ortiz’s calling card, is what ended the game. With the tying run on first in the top of the ninth, Ortiz lunged to his left to stab a screaming grounder off the bat of A.J. Ewing, rose to his feet and made the play to send the Brewers to another series win. 

“I’ve always said he’s the best defender I’ve ever seen,” Brewers starting pitcher Logan Henderson said. 

Whether the Brewers ultimately address their third base picture in the coming weeks before the trade deadline or let it ride with Ortiz and David Hamilton remains to be seen. The most likely scenario, though, seems to be sticking with Third Base Joey.

“I think this says a lot about his mentality and who he is as a player and person,” Megill said. “He struggled for quite a while in the first half of the season and then put together some at-bats and now we’re putting together almost a month here of good baseball. That’s him. That’s the person we’ve known.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How ‘Third Base Joey’ found his swing again for the Milwaukee Brewers