Joseph Anthony Ortiz (born July 14, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023 for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Amateur career

Ortiz attended Pacifica High School in

Garden Grove, California Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city in an east–west direction. The west ...

, where he played baseball and hit .417 with six triples as a senior in 2016. He went unselected in the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

and enrolled at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Co ...

. As a freshman at New Mexico State in 2017, Ortiz played in 55 games and hit .306 with 14 extra-base hits and 35 RBIs. For the 2018 season, he played sixty games and batted .289 with seven home runs, 54 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. That summer, he played for the

Willmar Stingers The Willmar Stingers are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The Stingers played their inaugural season in 2010. The team plays its home games at Baker Field at Bill Taunton Stadium. On June ...

of the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not ...

. As a junior in 2019, Ortiz played in 55 games and batted .422 with eight home runs, 84 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and 25 doubles and was one of five finalists for the

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstand ...

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

The

selected Ortiz in the fourth round with the 108th overall selection in the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. Ortiz signed with the Orioles and made his professional debut with the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

, batting .241 with one home run and 17 RBIs over 56 games. He did not play a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He started the 2021 season with Aberdeen and was promoted to the

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

during the season, but played in only 35 games between both teams due to a shoulder injury. Over those 35 games, he hit .265 with four home runs and 17 RBIs. He returned to Bowie to begin the 2022 season. In late August, he was promoted to the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

. Over 137 games between both teams, he

slashed Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album '' Trailer'' in 1994 and full-lengt ...

.284/.349/.477 with 19 home runs, 85 RBIs, and 35 doubles. On November 15, 2022, the Orioles selected Ortiz's contract and added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Ortiz was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to begin the 2023 season. He played in 16 games, hitting .359/.389/.500 with no home runs and 8 RBI. On April 27, 2023, Ortiz was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In 15 games during his rookie campaign, Ortiz batted .212/.206/.242 with no home runs and 4 RBI. Ortiz was shuffled between the major leagues and minor leagues three times in 2023, and spent the final three months of the season with Norfolk in Triple-A.

Milwaukee Brewers

On February 1, 2024, the Orioles traded Ortiz and

DL Hall Dayton Lane Hall (born September 19, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles. Amateur career Hall attended Valdosta Hi ...

to the

in exchange for right-handed pitcher

Corbin Burnes Corbin Brian Burnes (born October 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles. Burnes was se ...

. Ortiz was included in multiple trade offers throughout the offseason, as the Orioles had a surplus of talent in their infield. On March 25, Ortiz was informed that he made the major league roster for the Brewers out of spring training. He started at second base on Opening Day, but quickly found himself in a timeshare at third base with fellow rookie Oliver Dunn. Ortiz was effectively handed the starting role when Dunn was optioned to the minor leagues on May 15. Ortiz was named NL Rookie of the Month in May. Ortiz became the Brewers' starting shortstop in 2025, after

Willy Adames Willy Rafael Luna Adames (born September 2, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers. Adames mad ...

joined the San Francisco Giants.

References

External links

New Mexico State Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Joey 1998 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Garden Grove, California Bowie Baysox players Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers players New Mexico State Aggies baseball players Norfolk Tides players Willmar Stingers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players