How they got here: Brewers infielders

Successful major league baseball teams receive contributions from all kinds of places. Sure, there's a need for established stars at the top of the lineup, but just as important are the players on the margins of the roster who come up big when their number is called.

The Milwaukee Brewers infield group is an eclectic bunch of players. Among them is a rookie still maintaining his prospect status, a minor league journeyman waiting for his breakthrough season in the majors, and a seasoned veteran putting together a resurgent bounce-back season. Let's take a look at how each of the six infielders on the Brewers' active roster arrived at their current position on Milwaukee's squad. The following information is compiled thanks to the extensive and detailed records on both Baseball Reference and MLB.com.

The current Brewers infielders have taken very different paths to their spot on the active roster

1B - Jake Bauers

Originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 7th round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California, Jake Bauers is playing for his fifth MLB team despite only being in the league for six years. Bauers was included as part of the return in the 2014 three-team trade that sent Will Myers from the Tampa Bay Rays to the San Diego Padres. After three seasons in the Rays farm system, Bauers made his big league debut with Tampa Bay in 2018, appearing in 96 games before the season's end. In the subsequent offseason, Bauers was included in another major three-team trade. This deal sent Edwin Encarnación from Cleveland to Seattle, Carlos Santana from Seattle to Cleveland, Yandy Diaz from Cleveland to Tampa Bay, and Bauers from Tampa Bay to Cleveland.

After a season and a half with Cleveland, Bauers was traded once again, this time to Seattle for a player to be named later (PTBNL). Bauers signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds after electing free agency the following offseason, but was traded to the New York Yankees before making an appearance with the big league club. After just one season in New York, Bauers was traded for the fifth time in his career. This time it was to the Brewers for minor league outfielders Jace Avina and Brian Sanchez. The Crew brought Bauers back on a minor league deal this past offseason, and he played his way onto the big-league roster with an impressive spring training. He continues to serve in the same role as he did last season, as the left-handed platoon partner for everyday first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

3B/SS Vinny Capra

Vinny Capra was picked in the 20th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays after two seasons at the University of Richmond in Virginia. Before transferring to Richmond, Capra played two years of junior college ball at Eastern Florida State College. He spent a total of five seasons in the Blue Jays organization, making his MLB debut for Toronto in 2022. After appearing just eight games with the Toronto's major league club, Capra was traded early in the 2023 season to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for catcher Tyler Heineman.

Capra appeared in nine games for the Pirates in 2023, making starts at both second and third base, before Pittsburgh placed him on waivers at the start of the 2023 offseason. The Brewers scooped him up, and he has been in the organization ever since, splitting his time between the Triple-A Nashville Sounds and the major league club. He started the season locked into a platoon at third base with Oliver Dunn, but since the promotion of Caleb Durbin, his playing time has decreased significantly.

3B Caleb Durbin

The most recent addition to the Brewers' active roster, Durbin, was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He played his college ball at Washington University in St. Louis, where he posted an OPS above 1.000 in each of the three seasons he played. Durbin spent two seasons in Atlanta's minor league system before being traded to the Yankees in December 2023 for relief pitcher Lucas Luetge.

After two impressive seasons in the Yankees' farm system, Durbin was the main piece of Milwaukee's return for Devin Williams in the blockbuster trade that occurred last December. Durbin missed out on the Brewers' Opening Day roster after posting mediocre numbers in spring training, but he was quickly promoted to the big league roster on April 18. Since his promotion, Durbin has served as the team's everyday third baseman, and his solid performance thus far should keep him in that role for the foreseeable future.

1B Rhys Hoskins

Drafted a year after Bauers, Rhys Hoskins was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round of the 2014 Draft out of Sacramento State (formally known as California State University, Sacramento). Hoskins became a homegrown star for the Phillies, rising through the organization's farm system in just three short years before debuting with the major league club at the end of the 2017 season. Despite playing just 50 games in MLB in 2017, Hoskins posted 2.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Hoskins appeared in the 2022 World Series with the Phillies, a series that Philadelphia ultimately lost in six games to the Houston Astros. The following spring training, Hoskins tore his ACL while backtracking on a ground ball, forcing him to miss the entire 2023 season before he hit free agency the following offseason. With the Phillies making it clear that Bryce Harper was their first-baseman of the future, Hoskins looked elsewhere, eventually signing with the Brewers on a one-year deal with a player option for a second year. After a down year by his standards last season, Hoskins exercised his option, electing to remain with Milwaukee for the 2025 season. He's off to an impressive start this year in his continued role as the Crew's everyday first-baseman.

SS - Joey Ortiz

After three seasons at New Mexico State University, Joey Ortiz was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. What would have been his first full professional season in 2020 was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but despite the lost season, Ortiz rose quickly through the Orioles' farm system. While Baltimore had a notoriously crowded infield prospect group during Ortiz's time with the organization, he was still able to break through and debut with the major league club in 2023, appearing in 15 games for the Orioles throughout the first three months, before remaining in the minor leagues for the second half of the year.

The following offseason, Ortiz was included in a blockbuster trade that sent him, DL Hall, and a competitive balance round A pick to the Brewers in exchange for Corbin Burnes. Ortiz somewhat surprisingly made Milwaukee's 2024 Opening Day roster, but didn't earn the everyday third base job until the end of April. He won NL Rookie of the Month in May of 2024 before a neck injury in early July affected the rest of his season. He won the Brewers' starting shortstop role during spring training in 2025 and is still waiting to hit his stride as he's struggled out of the gates this year.

2B Brice Turang

Turang has the "cleanest" journey of any of the current Brewers' infielders. The only homegrown infielder currently on the roster, the Brewers selected Turang out of high school with the 21st overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. He played shortstop and second base throughout his minor league career and even had a brief stint in the outfield with the Nashville Sounds in 2022. Turang was included on the Brewers’ 2023 Opening Day roster, immediately slotting in as the team's everyday second baseman. An up-and-down 2023 season saw Turang return to Triple-A Nashville for a brief stint in June, but his elite defensive ability made it difficult to keep him off the major league roster.

Turang looked like a different player in 2024. He improved his OPS by nearly .100 points and even received consideration for the 2024 All-Star Game. Turang even won the Platinum Glove in 2024, earning him the title of "best defender in the National League." However, 2025 has been even better for Turang, whose altered stance has allowed him to tap into some power that previously wasn't there. He's still getting plenty of hits to the opposite field, stealing many bases, and playing solid defense in the field. As such, he's solidified himself as the Brewers’ second baseman for the foreseeable future.