With Monday’s surprising trade of Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers created a big question just days before spring training officially gets going: Who plays third base Opening Day?

There are some internal options, but they fall into two categories: underwhelming, and not quite ready for prime time. Rather than accept one of those imperfect solutions, they could go out and find someone to play the hot corner via trade or free agency. As a reminder of what Durbin contributed in 2025, he finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, with a .256/.334/.387 slash line, 11 homers, 53 RBIs, and 18 steals. He was hit by pitches an NL-high 24 times and played pretty good defense. In short (no pun intended), he won’t be easy to replace, per se.

Let’s take a look at who is out there:

Isaac Paredes

The most expensive of the logical candidates is Isaac Paredes. A right-handed hitter with a bit of punch, Paredes doesn’t have a starting role with the Houston Astros following their trade deadline acquisition of Carlos Correa. The Houston infield also includes Jeremy Peña, Jose Altuve and Christian Walker, and the DH spot will go to Yordan Alvarez. Whether it’s to the Brewers or not, a Paredes deal is likely.

The soon-to-be 27-year-old Paredes is a valuable piece to any club, and has been pursued all offseason. But Paredes also comes with a contract price tag of $9.35 million for 2026, with a $13.35 million club option for 2027. The Astros, always concerned with their proximity to the luxury tax, would love to move on from that contract, but taking on that kind of money in February would be an uncharacteristic move from the Crew.

After Houston dealt for him last offseason, the pull-happy Paredes put together a .254/.352/.458 slash line, with 20 homers and 53 RBIs. He’s slow and unathletic, and doesn’t play great defense at third base. He got a lot of those homers by yanking the ball into the Crawford Boxes down Houston’s left-field line, which makes him a suspect fit for Uecker Field. He’s the most obviously available third baseman on the market, though, and it’s easy to imagine Houston wanting to land some of the excess pitching with which the Brewers find themselves after adding two solid arms in the Durbin deal.

CJ Abrams

After a report of the San Francisco Giants nearly acquiring Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams last month, the Brewers could step in and take Abrams and put him at third. No, he wouldn’t be an option to replace Joey Ortiz at shortstop. Abrams ranked 122nd among all MLB shortstops with -6 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Moving him off short will be the first order of business for whoever pries him away from the rebuilding Nats.

The 25-year-old Abrams is a little more dynamic than Paredes. Last year, he had a slash line of .257/.315/.433 with 19 homers, 60 RBIs and 31 steals, with the power and speed fitting what the Brewers need and seek. That slash line is very close to his career mark of .249/.306/.411, while averaging 19 homers and 63 RBIs over the last three years. He’s not a good shortstop, but he could work at third, or the team could shift him to second, move Brice Turang to shortstop, and slide Ortiz to third, after all.

Abrams will make $4.2 million in 2026, as he makes his first trip through arbitration. He comes with three years of team control. His 2024 ended early, when the Nationals sent him to the minors after an all-nighter at a Chicago-area casino, but there were no reported issues in 2025. A new front-office regime could simply be looking to move on from Abrams, lowering his price.

Enrique “Kiké” Hernández

Still recovering from elbow surgery, Enrique Hernández is expected to miss the first two months of the season and is probably a far-fetched option, considering his ties to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hernández is probably best when he is in a platoon situation, instead of a full-time starter at one position, but he does bring positional versatility, able to play anywhere on the infield or outfield.

The 34-year-old is less of an offensive threat than others on this list, compiling a .236/.305/.403 career slash line. While 21- and 20-homer seasons (2018, 2021) decorate his baseball card, he’s more of a 10- to 12-homer guy now, depending on his playing time. Hernández made $6.5 million last season with the Dodgers and would likely need a similar number not to return to the two-time defending World Series champs—although it’s far from clear that they have room for him on their roster.

Luis Rengifo

A potentially sneaky-good free-agent addition would be Luis Rengifo. The former Los Angeles Angels utility man turns 29 at the end of February and has played seven MLB seasons. In 657 games, Rengifo has 409 appearances at second base, but also 199 at third.

His offensive numbers were down in 2025, producing a .238/.287/.335 slash line with 9 homers, 43 RBIs and 10 steals. That came after a combined slash line of .273/.323/.431 from 2022-24, with 39 homers and 133 RBIs. His 2024 ended prematurely due to surgery on his right wrist, limiting him to 78 games. He has some speed to offer, posting a career-best 24 steals in that abbreviated 2024.

Rengifo made $5.95 million in his final year of arbitration with the Angels, so he could be signed for something similar for 2026, especially to join a contender like the Brewers.

Thairo Estrada

Coming off an injury-plagued 2025 in his only season with the Colorado Rockies, Thairo Estrada could be more of an affordable platoon option in free agency, instead of a full-time third baseman. Mostly a second baseman, Estrada has just 13 appearances at third base in 483 MLB games.

Estrada was at his peak in 2022 and 2023 with the San Francisco Giants, posting a combined slash line of .266/.319/.408 along with 28 homers, 111 RBIs and 44 RBIs over the two years. His 2025 was cut short by a fractured right wrist, a sprained left thumb, and a hamstring strain that limited him to 39 games.

He made $3.25 million with the Rockies and could be had cheaply again, due to his injury-marred 2025.

Ramón Urías

The older brother of former Crew infielder Luis Urías, Ramón Urías enters his age-32 season having split 2025 with the Baltimore Orioles and Astros. He has played 371 of his 518 games at third base and is a good defender, with 5 DRS in 638 innings at the position. Durbin had 5 DRS at third in 1,060 innings.

Urías had a .241/.292/.384 line across the two stops in 2025, with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 112 games. For his career, his line is .257/.321/.403. He peaked at 16 homers and 48 RBIs in 116 games in 2022, but has never stolen more than three bases in any year.

He earned $3.125 million in 2025 and was non-tendered by the Astros as a third-year abitration-eligible guy. Urías would be inexpensive, but feels like more of a platoon option.

Whatever else the Brewers have up their sleeve, we should see it materialize soon. If nothing else happens this week, perhaps they’re happy to roll the dice with the guys already coming to camp. That, however, feels unlikely, and the players named above are the most obvious options to effectively replace Durbin and keep the NL Central dynasty rolling.