A quiet Brewers trade deadline was exactly what Joey Ortiz needed

The MLB Trade Deadline is not just about what players an organization chooses to add or not add to their roster in the middle of the season; it's about what kind of message the front office and management group wants to send to their team. Oftentimes, that message is either a blatant display of confidence or an obvious throwing in of the towel, based on whether the team chooses to add or subtract impact players at the deadline. However, the most obvious display of confidence for the front office of a contending team is to do nothing, as if to say that they wholeheartedly believe in the group of players they currently have and don't think an outside addition is required in order for the team to achieve their goals.

After a couple minor additions and one subtraction at the trade deadline, the message from the Milwaukee Brewers' front office down to their clubhouse was a resounding "we believe in you." By electing to prioritize the players currently on the roster, particularly those who were not playing great baseball at the time of the trade deadline, Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office made their belief in their roster crystal clear. When you have the best record in baseball by a fair margin, that message is far easier to sell to a Brewers' fanbase that has been starved of playoff success in recent years.

However, what rarely gets talked about is the impact that this message can have on the mentality of the players that remained in the organization after the trade deadline has passed. If an outside player is brought in, it's easy for the players on the current roster to question the front office's confidence in them, which in turn could lead to them losing confidence in themselves and sending them down a slippery slope into even worse play on the field. In contrast, if a winning team stands pat at the deadline, as the Brewers essentially did, the players that were in danger of being replaced now know that there are people in the front office who believe in them and trust in their abilities to find the success that they once had.

One such Brewer is currently the beneficiary of the front office's confidence after the team elected to stick with him through the trade deadline, and up to this point, that confidence is paying huge dividends.

Joey Ortiz has been excellent since the Brewers elected not to replace him at the trade deadline

There was a lot of chatter about the Milwaukee Brewers adding an infielder at this year's trade deadline. Such a move would have more than likely pushed Ortiz out of an everyday role, in one way or another. However, as the deadline came and went, the Brewers stood pat with their current infield group, electing to add to their catching depth, outfield group, and bullpen, but nowhere on the infield dirt. With Caleb Durbin and Brice Turang having excellent seasons at third and second base, respectively, the biggest question was how Ortiz, who is in the midst of a down season, would respond to continuing to be the Crew's everyday shortstop down the stretch.

To this point, 10 days after the deadline, Ortiz has responded just as the Brewers hoped he would. In the last 10 days, Ortiz has started all nine games that the Brewers have played and hit safely in seven of them. Four of those seven games were multi-hit performances for Ortiz, and five of his 12 hits since the deadline have been doubles. Additionally, the Brewers' shortstop has driven in nine runs in nine games while striking out just three times.

In other words, Ortiz has done exactly what the Brewers were counting on when they chose not to add another infield bat at the deadline. To put icing on the cake, when compared to some of the outside additions that the Brewers passed on at the deadline, Ortiz's numbers stick out in a positive way.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little confidence from the front office for a player to return to their true potential. Ortiz showed what he was capable of last season, winning NL Rookie of the Month in May of 2024, and now, ever since the trade deadline, the Brewers' second-year shortstop is once again showing what he's capable of.