Spring Training Game Thread #26: Milwaukee Brewers (13-11) vs. Chicago White Sox (8-15)

Elvin Rodríguez gets the start as the Brewers hope to get back in the win column following Monday’s loss

We’re still eight days away from the Brewers’ first regular season game, yet they officially hold a two-game advantage in the loss column on the Cubs!

Milwaukee is down to its final five game days in the Cactus League, and today they’ll take on the Cubs’ Chicago counterpart, a White Sox team so bad that their ineptitude bleeds into their spring training record. Taking the hill for the Brewers will be Aaron Civale, while Shane Smith will pitch first for the Sox.

We got a bit of clarity yesterday on what the Brewers’ infield alignment will look like at the beginning of the 2025 season, as Pat Murphy confirmed that Brice Turang’s recent (mild) shoulder issues mean that he’ll be back at second base, and Joey Ortiz will move from third base to shortstop. A strong spring from Oliver Dunn and his status as the only left-handed hitter in contention for the Brewers’ up-for-grabs infield spots likely means that he’ll be the everyday starter at third base against right-handed pitching, but Dunn’s opposite piece in a potential platoon remains up for grabs.

We will see two of the contenders in the starting lineup today, as Caleb Durbin gets the start at third while Vinny Capra is in at second base. Capra and Andruw Monasterio don’t come with the hype that Durbin does, but both veterans have thoroughly outperformed Durbin this spring; it would be harsh, to me, to give Durbin an infield spot over either one of them given the results of spring training. My official prediction for the infield is that Durbin starts the season with Triple-A Nashville, and both Capra and Monasterio make the team. With Dunn, Capra, and Monasterio, that puts the Brewers at 12 position players (William Contreras, Eric Haase, Rhys Hoskins, Turang, Ortiz, Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Jackson Chourio), which means that one spot is left up for grabs.

I’d like to say that Tyler Black could snag that spot as a backup at first base who can play in the outfield if necessary, but Black has had an awful spring: he is 3-for-26 with no extra-base hits. On paper, he makes the most sense (and I bet that’s who the front office wishes they could put there), but he’ll need to show something in the next week, I think. If Black doesn’t have a dramatic turnaround, look for that last spot to go back to Jake Bauers, who presumably has Murphy’s trust from last season and has played well this spring. He needs to be added to the 40-man roster, but that shouldn’t be much of an issue.

First pitch today is at 3:10 p.m. No TV today, but catch the game on ESPN Radio.