The Brewers re-signed infielder Jonathan Ornelas on a minor league contract, reports Francys Romero. He’ll report to Triple-A Nashville.
Ornelas elected free agency after being waived by Milwaukee last week. The Brewers had acquired him a couple weeks earlier in a minor league trade with the Athletics. Ornelas was a stopgap depth infielder while Cooper Pratt was down with a minor hamstring strain. The rookie shortstop’s return left Ornelas without much of a path to playing time.
The 26-year-old got into three games for the Brew Crew, going 2-9 with four strikeouts. He’d appeared in six games with the A’s earlier this season and is up to 41 career contests across four teams. He’s a .203/.253/.230 hitter who is still looking for his first MLB home run. While Ornelas has typically had a light bat in the minors as well, he’s having a big season in Triple-A. The former third-round pick has a .310/.378/.505 slash with 11 homers and stolen bases apiece between the Yankees’ and A’s affiliates.
Milwaukee brought Ornelas back just before this afternoon’s deadline for players to be eligible for postseason play. It’d likely require at least one or two injuries among the current infield mix for the Brewers to consider carrying him in October. He’ll be a minor league free agent this offseason if he’s not selected back to the majors.
