It sure sounds like the Brewers know who their Willy Adames replacement will be

While there are some Milwaukee Brewers fans retaining hope that shortstop Willy Adames will return to Milwaukee on a new contract, the reality is that it won't happen. The Brewers themselves have even made their peace with that.

The real question for the Brewers is not if Adames will return, the question is who do they replace him with at the most important position on the field? Luckily for Milwaukee, they have themselves a couple of strong options already in their infield in Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz.

Turang is the homegrown talent, a first round pick in 2018, he's got two years of MLB experience already under his belt, and he's coming off a Gold Glove season at second base and won the Platinum Glove as the best fielder in the National League. As fine a candidate as any to be a shortstop.

Then there's Joey Ortiz, just arrived from Baltimore last year in the Corbin Burnes trade, another gifted defender, albeit with no Gold Glove to his name, but the range, quickness, and throwing arm to be an elite defender at short.

Between those two, there's really no way the Brewers can go wrong at shortstop. But who will actually take over the job? Freshly minted NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy went on Foul Territory and gave some insight as to how he views that situation playing out.

Brewers' Pat Murphy implies he is leaning towards Joey Ortiz to replace Adames at short

While Murphy says that Turang is easily capable of handling shortstop, he also mentions that Joey Ortiz is just as capable of taking over the position.

The crucial part of Murphy's answer is where he says "The decision will be one or the other. My tendency is probably to leave Brice alone because he's as special as you can see at second base."

It sure sounds like Pat Murphy is leaning towards moving Joey Ortiz over to shortstop to fill the void left by Willy Adames instead of moving Brice Turang over from second base. This would instead create a hole at third base for the Brewers to find a way to fill, likely from an external addition.

This is not very surprising when you look at it, especially given Murphy's explanation. While Turang is clearly a gifted defender as evidenced by his Platinum Glove, if the Brewers already have that one position set with the best in the game, why make a change? If it isn't broke, don't fix it. While Turang can be a great defensive shortstop, would he be the best shortstop in the league? Perhaps not. Is he already the best second baseman in the league? Clearly he is as his Gold Glove shows.

This seems like the smart play by the Brewers, keeping Turang at a position where he's proven to be great and slide over a just as capable Joey Ortiz into the shortstop spot to form an incredible double-play duo for the next several years.

Ortiz was not a great offensive fit at third base, a traditional power hitting position, since he doesn't bring that much power to the table. The lineup still worked though because Adames supplied power in spades with his 32 home runs from a non-traditional power spot at shortstop. Moving Ortiz to short would allow the Brewers the space to add a power hitting corner infielder to play third to help make up for the loss of Adames' 32 homers and 112 RBIs.

While there still may be a spring training camp battle between Turang and Ortiz for the shortstop job, it appears as if Murphy's mind is already leaning in one direction. Plus, Murphy is a straight shooter, he tells you what he's thinking. There aren't any mind games about what he might do where he makes something up to mislead everyone, this is genuinely what Murphy is thinking about the situation and it appears as if Joey Ortiz will be Milwaukee's starting shortstop in 2025.