Brewers infield situation immediately in question after latest injury update

During last month's trade deadline, many Milwaukee Brewers fans were advocating for the front office to upgrade their bench, specifically the team's backup infield options. Adding such a player to the roster would not only put pressure on the team's starting infield group to perform, but it would also have provided a stronger insurance policy in case one of the starters went down with an injury. While the team's current infield bench options, Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler, certainly have their strengths, slotting them into an everyday role, even temporarily, is concerning for a team with World Series aspirations. However, that is the exact situation the Brewers face after their latest injury news.

Everyday shortstop Joey Ortiz strained his left hamstring in the Brewers' series finale against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The Brewers and their fans anxiously awaited word on whether Ortiz's injury would require a stint on the IL or not, but on Friday afternoon they got their answer, and it wasn't the one they were hoping for. The team announced that Ortiz had been placed on the 10-day IL, leaving questions about how the Brewers would proceed with their now-incomplete group of infielders.

Joey Ortiz placed on 10-day IL, Andruw Monasterio to start at shortstop tonight

With Ortiz on the IL, the Brewers are left with limited options at the shortstop position. One option was to have one of Brice Turang or Caleb Durbin slide over to short, but doing so would further shake up the Brewers' infield picture, and neither Turang nor Durbin has much big league experience at the position.

The other option, which appears to be the one that the Brewers are electing according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is to replace Ortiz with one of their backup infielders. Monasterio has the most big league experience at shortstop, but his 12 career MLB starts there leave concerns over how the 28-year-old utility man will fill in at the demanding defensive position.

Hogg also notes that while Ortiz's hamstring strain required an IL stint, it's a low-grade strain and he should return shortly after the minimum 10-day stay on the injured list. Hogg explains that the team expects Ortiz's recovery to be much faster than Chourio’s, which is set to last more than a month. Ortiz's stay on the IL should hopefully more closely resemble Sal Frelick's stint last month, which was also the result of a low-grade hamstring strain.

There's no doubt that Monasterio's glove is a significant downgrade from Ortiz's, but the former might actually be an upgrade at the plate. In fact, Monasterio is swinging a better bat during the month of August than he has all season. His August slash line of .444/.444/.778 suggests that the Brewers' offense may not skip a beat without Ortiz in the lineup.

To replace Ortiz on the active roster, the Brewers are recalling Jake Bauers from Triple-A, who was eight days into a rehab assignment with the Nashville Sounds. Bauers, who can man first base and a corner outfield position defensively, is clearly not a perfect replacement for Ortiz, but having his powerful left-handed bat back on the active roster does give Pat Murphy another intriguing option when it comes to pinch hits and lineup construction. Bauers has been out since late July with a left shoulder impingement, but his performance during his rehab assignment suggests that he's more than ready to rejoin the big leagues.

It's certainly not an ideal situation for the first-place Milwaukee Brewers; Ortiz is the anchor of the defense, and his replacement certainly isn't a perfect fit. However, Ortiz's IL stint is hopefully going to be a short one, and Monasterio's recent hot bat could be a fine temporary replacement.