What does 2026 look like for Brewers' Garrett Mitchell and Joey Ortiz?

The Milwaukee Brewers' offseason is in full swing, with Brandon Woodruff already locked in for next season, Jake Bauers signing a one-year deal and offers extended to multiple arbitration-eligible players.

But plenty of questions remain as the winter meetings approach in early December.

Earlier this month, beat writer Todd Rosiak addressed some of the potential decisions facing the Brewers in his winter meetings preview, and in a mailbag this week, fellow beat writer Curt Hogg found many of the issues regarding the 2026 season are still on the minds of Journal Sentinel readers.

Among the concerns were a couple positions where the Brewers appear strong defensively going forward but could use some offensive punch – center field and shortstop.

Center fielder Garrett Mitchell packs power and is a standout defender, but the oft-injured 2020 first-round pick was struck again this year, first a month into the season with a strained oblique and then in June when, on a rehab assignment, he suffered a left shoulder injury that required surgery that put him out for the season. Jackson Chourio played out of position and got the bulk of the work in center until defensive whiz Blake Perkins could return from a broken shin in mid-July.

At shortstop, the 27-year-old Joey Ortiz "did an admirable job with the glove replacing [Willy] Adames as the team's starting shortstop but struggled mightily with the bat," Rosiak and Hogg wrote in their season-ending grades.

Here is further analysis of the Brewers' options at the two positions.

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Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins in center field

Hogg addressed a couple of questions about center field, including whether the Brewers should move on from Mitchell. If he does stay, how will playing time shake out between Mitchell and Perkins?

"Here’s the thing about wanting the Brewers to move on from Garrett Mitchell: What do you expect to get for him? Sure, he hasn't been able to stay healthy, but that's baked into his value now. It makes far more sense for the Brewers to pay him the $1 million or so he’s due in arbitration rather than move on and deplete your center field depth for minimal return. It’s not as easy as 'just trade him.' When he's been on the field, he's largely produced, and packs some punch at a position where the Brewers offense sure could use it."

If Mitchell is healthy enough to play?

"The plan as the roster currently stands would be a strict right-left platoon with the two."

Joey Ortiz at shortstop

The Brewers chose to ride out Ortiz's offensive woes in 2025, but now "Milwaukee must determine whether it believes Ortiz can improve upon his performance and keep him as the starter, or if a move needs to be made to acquire a more proven backup who can at the very least provide a viable alternative should Ortiz not improve at the plate," Rosiak wrote in his winter meetings preview.

Hogg also addressed the future of the position in his mailbag:

"Plenty of members of the front office remain high enough on Joey Ortiz’s various tools on offense that they’re willing to keep rolling him out there given his excellent defense. You've got Cooper Pratt and Made not all that far away from the majors, too. So while the Brewers could find a short-term stopgap at shortstop before their top prospects arrive, the most likely avenue they take is sticking with their belief in Ortiz rather than pay a premium to replace him in 2026. That said, infield depth was a definite weakness of the roster last year and the Brewers would be wise to at least add in that realm."

Here's what Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said about Ortiz after the season:

"Somebody like Joey Ortiz playing the defense that he provided to us this year at a Gold Glove level – the offense wasn't probably where he had hoped it would be, but you're talking about a guy that has made every single play and most plays that nobody can get to, honestly. I thought he was tremendous on the defensive side of the ball and think he can still grow because he has some really good offensive tools."

Time will tell how these positions shake out heading into next season.

Subscribers can read Hogg's full mailbag transcript here and Rosiak's analysis heading into the winter meetings here.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Will the Brewers stick with Garrett Mitchell and Joey Ortiz?