Crew shortstop still TBD: 'Can't put a deadline on it'

PHOENIX -- With 20 days to go before Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, Brewers manager Pat Murphy still hadn¡¯t named a starting shortstop as of Friday.

Publicly, at least, he sounded no closer to doing so. Instead, Murphy borrowed from one of a handful of phrases he has written down on his desk calendar for just these types of questions:

Soon.

¡°It¡¯s kind of ongoing,¡± Murphy said. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard for you guys to understand, but it¡¯s kind of like the concept of a creative thought: It¡¯s got to emerge. You can¡¯t put a deadline on it.¡±

The choices haven¡¯t changed since Willy Adames departed for a free agent deal with the Giants and left shortstop wide open in Milwaukee. The Brewers could shift Brice Turang off second base, where he was the 2024 NL Gold Glove Award winner and the Platinum Glove Award winner as the NL¡¯s top overall defender. Or they could shift Joey Ortiz from third base to short -- which, based on Cactus League lineups so far, seems to be the leading option.

Ortiz has made six starts at shortstop compared with Turang¡¯s two.

The Brewers¡¯ original lineup card Friday had Ortiz starting at shortstop and Turang at second against the Padres before a soggy field prompted some substitutions. The game was canceled after two innings with no scoring.

It¡¯s believed that the Brewers have Turang rated as the better shortstop of the two, but there¡¯s an argument for ¡°why mess with success?¡± as Turang heads into his third season at second base. Staff meetings about the decision, with GM Matt Arnold, Murphy and the team¡¯s array of coaches and analysts, have been spirited. Murphy said he has also met multiple times with Turang and Ortiz, neither of whom has expressed a strong preference other than to have a consistent position once the alignment is selected.

¡°They¡¯d like to be on the team and to play a lot,¡± Murphy said. ¡°They both said they¡¯ll do whatever to help the team win.¡±

¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Turang said. ¡°I don¡¯t look too much into it. Wherever they put me, even if it¡¯s in the outfield or first base or third or wherever, I¡¯m going to play.¡±

Said Ortiz: ¡°If there¡¯s an opportunity to play there [at shortstop], then I want to be ready for it. If I play third, I¡¯ll be ready for it. Second, I¡¯ll be ready for it. [The preference is] wherever gets me in the lineup. I look at it as whatever the team needs.¡±

If either player did have a strong opinion, Murphy said, he would welcome it.

¡°There¡¯s things that come up that players voice what they want,¡± Murphy said. ¡°I¡¯m glad they do. I encourage that. Confrontation isn¡¯t a negative. It¡¯s rather critical, I think. And I don¡¯t mean that confrontation has to be hostile or anything like that. I¡¯m not that kind of person. I like when they bring up stuff.¡±

If Ortiz moves off third base, it would probably mean a platoon of left-handed hitter Oliver Dunn and right-handed-hitting rookie Caleb Durbin at that position, with utility man Andruw Monasterio also in play.

If the Brewers instead move Turang off second base, perhaps Durbin takes the lead role there. Dunn is a terrific defender at third -- a priority for the Brewers, who won the team Gold Glove Award in the NL last season -- but is unproven as an offensive player. Durbin in more of a leading role would further boost the Brewers¡¯ already terrific team speed, but he has yet to play a game in the Major Leagues.

The choice could impact other bench spots. Monasterio¡¯s fit, for example, could influence whether the Brewers keep Vinny Capra to back up at short. (Capra is out of Minor League options.) And who will back up at first base among non-roster invitees like Mark Canha and Jake Bauers -- or perhaps Dunn or Tyler Black?

Then there¡¯s the long-term question of shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt, who looks every bit a future big league shortstop. Pratt, one of nine players reassigned to Minor League camp on Friday morning, so impressed Brewers coaches in his first Major League camp that some considered him the team¡¯s second-best infield defender to Turang.

Pratt, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Brewers¡¯ No. 3 prospect, probably will begin the season in Double-A.

In the nearer term, Brewers officials will keep debating the optimal infield alignment.

¡°Best discussions we¡¯ve had all year. Like, unbelievable,¡± Murphy said. ¡°Me and Matt are talking about it and having fun with it. All of the data guys, our baseball coaches, it¡¯s awesome. You don¡¯t know which way it¡¯s going to go, how it¡¯s going to happen. You just keep rolling.¡±