Injuries to Joey Ortiz and Cooper Pratt leave Brewers temporarily short on infield depth

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz and shortstop Cooper Pratt are dealing with injuries that have left the NL Central leaders short of depth on the left side of their infield.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before Sunday’s game with the Minnesota Twins that both players were day to day as Ortiz deals with issues to the scapular muscles in the upper part of his back and Pratt undergoes an MRI on his hamstring.

Ortiz aggravated his scapular injury while swinging the bat in the second inning Saturday, causing him to exit a 4-3 victory two innings later. Murphy said Pratt indicated his hamstring issue also cropped up on Saturday.

The shortage of available players on the left side of the Brewers’ infield caused Andrew Vaughn to start at third base Sunday for just the second time in his career, and the first since 2021. Vaughn, who typically plays first base, appeared in six games at third base this year in a reserve role.

“He’s a baseball player, he’s done it before and we’re in an emergency situation,” Murphy said.

David Hamilton was penciled in as Milwaukee’s starting shortstop for the first time since June 9. Hamilton had been alternating between third base and shortstop earlier this season, but he’s been working primarily at third since Pratt got promoted to the big leagues in mid-June.

The Brewers’ injury issues on the left side of the infield aren’t limited to their major league roster. Jett Williams, who has been playing shortstop and third base for Triple-A Nashville, has wrist soreness and is going to Arizona to see a specialist.

Williams, rated by MLB Pipeline as baseball’s No. 76 overall prospect, came to the Brewers along with pitcher Brandon Sproat in the January trade that sent two-time All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets. Peralta has since been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Brewers addressed some of their depth issues Sunday by signing Jihwan Bae to a minor league contract. Bae has 163 games of MLB experience, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2022-25. He primarily has played the outfield and second base.

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