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After trading Caleb Durbin, Anthony Seigler, and Andruw Monasterio to the Red Sox as part of a six-player trade days before spring training began, the Brewers needed more third base depth. Offensively, Luis Rengifo was a viable solution. Having posted a 111 wRC+ across three seasons from 2022 through 2024, the versatile 28-year-old was a reasonable bounceback candidate available on a cheap one-year deal. He has the profile to match Durbin’s offense in 2026.
At first glance, though, the fit on defense looks less clear. The Brewers prize above-average fielding. Throughout the past few seasons, they have frequently favored players who defend over those who hit more. Rengifo, however, has graded as a below-average defender at every position he’s played. He’s been especially poor at third base, amassing -6 Defensive Runs Saved and a -14 Fielding Run Value in just over 1,400 innings.
However, president of baseball operations Matt Arnold told reporters shortly after signing Rengifo that the Brewers do not project him as the poor defender he’s been to date. That’s due to the presence of third base and infield coach Matt Erickson, who has helped several Milwaukee infielders improve their glovework.
“Just knowing that Matt Erickson’s here, and what he’s been able to do with a lot of our infielders, was somebody we talked to a lot about before we acquired Rengifo,” Arnold said. “Having those tools and ingredients, and having Matt as part of that evaluation process, saying, ‘Hey, I’ve seen this guy, I think he has a chance to be really good here.'”
Durbin was one of Erickson’s top success stories last season. After looking so poor defensively at third base that he failed to crack Milwaukee’s Opening Day roster, he improved remarkably in-season, finishing the season with +5 DRS and +1 FRV. The Brewers believe Erickson will help Rengifo make similar strides.
“We believe in Matt Erickson making these guys better,” Arnold said.
Rengifo’s poor public marks don’t mean much to Erickson. He values defensive metrics – the team has its own proprietary numbers to evaluate its infielders, which he incorporates into his coaching – but takes that information for what it is. The number of runs a player saves or gives away is a result, not a predictive measurement of his physical ability and, by extension, how many runs he could save.
“You can use the metrics, and you can use spray charts as information, but it’s all in the past,” Erickson said. “It’s all history, right? I’m more concerned with what they are now, what I see with my eyes, and what their beliefs are, and then what they think they’re good at and what their deficiencies are.”
Erickson believes Rengifo’s athleticism gives him many of the ingredients of a good infielder. His arm is stronger than Durbin’s, and while he isn’t quite as fast, he seemingly has enough swiftness to play a solid third base. His average sprint speed last year of 27 feet per second was slightly higher than the MLB average for third basemen. When he played in 21 games in the outfield in 2023, his average jump (distance covered within the first three seconds of a pitch being thrown) was 2.2 feet above average, which suggests he can move quickly and suddenly.
“To be very honest with you, the physical ceiling that he has, I think, is impressive,” Erickson said. “I think his footwork and his lower half are explosive. He’s got arm strength. There seems to be some repeatable actions. I think that’s the thing, though. Just because you’re physically talented doesn’t mean you’re a good infielder.”
Just like baserunning, the quickest player is not always the most successful. Mental preparation and anticipation allow an infielder to move early enough in the right direction to successfully reach and field a batted ball. A slower infielder with that anticipation could reach a ball that a quicker one without it may not.
That’s where Erickson’s work truly begins. Raw athleticism is generally not coachable – coaches can’t cue players into being faster or more mobile – but he and the Brewers have excelled at developing anticipation and mental awareness in their infielders, including Joey Ortiz throughout last season. He has already started that process with Rengifo.
“We challenge all of our infielders with engagement,” Erickson said. “What that means is being mentally prepared and using the information pre-pitch that that you have, whether that’s the PitchCom, whether that’s the location of the pitch, learning our pitchers and their tendencies, paying attention to the to the hitter and what the hitter’s giving you for information, and subtle movements to our prep step where we can gain advantages. I’ve had some of those conversations with him.”
The Brewers aren’t necessarily looking for infielders with good defensive metrics, but for infielders with the athleticism to succeed there. From there, Erickson coaches the player’s approach on the dirt to maximize his efficiency. He gives defenders pointers on how to position themselves to make more plays, based on their individual strengths and weaknesses.
“We all have a physical ceiling,” he said, “whether it’s footwork, lateral quickness, can we go front to back, what are our reactions, how are our hands? As far as what our process is, I talk a lot from the ground up and using your feet to get yourself in the most optimal fielding position possible. And that’s different on every play, based on the speed of the ball and the direction it takes you.
“Once they get those details down and start to recognize what the optimal fielding position is for that particular play – which happens through a number of reps, off the work we do on the half field, into our infield routine, and then ultimately our experiences and our chances in the game – all of those experiences help give you information about not only the game, but about yourself and how you could be a little bit better the next time.”
After just a few days of work, Erickson has been impressed by Rengifo’s openness to new information and has already seen him make some proposed adjustments.
“He’s been outstanding so far,” he said. “He’s been very professional. He’s been eager. You can tell that he’s excited to be a part of this organization.”
The Brewers have not officially named Rengifo their starting third baseman – David Hamilton and Jett Williams will also get significant reps there this spring – but he’ll be a key part of the mix. He could become the next infielder to flip his defensive reputation in Milwaukee.
“I have no reason to think that Luis can’t be a quality defender,” Erickson said. “That remains to be seen, but we’re very optimistic about him right now.”