MILWAUKEE -- Caleb Durbin didn’t expect this sort of reception from the American Family Field faithful on Friday for his Major League debut. Longtime Brewer Freddy Peralta was just as surprised.
“It was crazy. I think it was the most excited [debut] that I’ve been here for,” said Peralta, who has been pitching in this ballpark since 2018 and has seen his share of prospects come through. “I don’t think even [Jackson] Chourio got that.”
Peralta wasn’t complaining. To the contrary, he loved to see the 5-foot-7 infielder embraced by fans on a night the Brewers got contributions from all over the roster in a 5-3 win over the A’s.
Peralta was rewarded for five hard-fought innings with a win, Christian Yelich drove in three runs and Durbin made his presence felt all over the field -- from an infield single in his first Major League at-bat that sparked the go-ahead rally, to a nifty catch along the visiting dugout railing to a heads-up baserunning play in the seventh that led to some insurance in the Brewers’ third straight victory on the heels of a three-game losing streak.
At each step, an energetic crowd of 25,008 made sure Durbin felt welcomed.
“I didn’t expect that. That was really cool,” Durbin said. “Definitely easy to feed off of a crowd like that. I was just trying to go out and play hard and let the results be what they are, and it ended up being a really fun night.”
“It’s great. It’s only going to happen one time,” Peralta said. “It’s something he’s going to remember forever.”
Looking for a boost in production at third base, the Brewers called up Durbin Friday after optioning a slumping Oliver Dunn to Triple-A Nashville the day before. In making the move, the Brewers scrapped a left-right platoon of Dunn and utility man Vinny Capra and handed the job to right-handed-hitting Durbin, the 25-year-old infielder who was acquired from the Yankees in the Devin Williams trade and ranks 21st on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top Milwaukee prospects.
With a 2-for-4 night, Durbin became the 11th player to tally multiple hits in his Major League debut with the Brewers. And he figures to get plenty more chances to make an impact.
“I see him playing every day,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
The Brewers entered the night above .500 at 10-9 despite getting little from third basemen Dunn and Capra, who have combined to rank 29th of 30 MLB teams with a .429 OPS at that position, and last with a .188 on-base percentage. Most of those plate appearances belonged to Dunn, who was slashing .167/.205/.222, though he did help spark Wednesday’s win over the Tigers with a successful squeeze bunt that opened the scoring in a 5-1 Brewers victory.
When Murphy and his coaches noticed the early-season slump weighing on Dunn, they opted to make a change, swapping Dunn for Durbin and effectively trading defense for what they hope is a boost in run-production.
Durbin slashed .278/.316/.482 in his first 13 games with Triple-A Nashville. He has a career .782 OPS in the Minor Leagues with 113 stolen bases in 294 games, which doesn’t include his record-setting 29 stolen bases in last year’s Arizona Fall League before the Brewers acquired Durbin in December along with left-hander Nestor Cortes from the Yankees for Williams.
The Brewers gave Durbin a good, long look in Spring Training – so long that he led the team with 54 Cactus League at-bats before being optioned in late March to Triple-A. The idea at the time was to pair a hot hand (Capra) with the defensively-sound Dunn, while giving Durbin, a natural second baseman, a longer runway to get more comfortable at third base.
Durbin had plenty of moral support for his Major League debut. He played in front of several dozen family and friends who made the short trip to American Family Field from Lake Forest, Ill.
They know all about his long journey from undrafted out of high school, to Division-III Washington University in St. Louis, to being a 14th-round Draft pick of the Braves in 2021, then traded to the Yankees and traded again to the Brewers.
“The kid is born to play baseball,” Durbin’s brother, Regis, told FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin’s Sophia Minnaert during the game. “Since he was six years old, always baseball, always baseball. Great baseball player, better person. The kid is just an amazing person, and it is so incredible to see him live out his dream and debut in MLB.
“Hopefully it is going to be an awesome, very long journey for him for the Milwaukee Brewers.”
His brother appreciated the support.
“It’s hard for anyone [to make it to MLB],” Caleb Durbin said. “Definitely my journey is pretty unique, but I feel like anyone at this level has put in a ton of work. It’s not easy. If you put your head down and work, you’re giving yourself the best chance.”