After an impressive 2025 season, Brice Turang has become one of the cornerstones for the Brewers. He led the team in fWAR this season and was voted #2 in our MVBrewers poll this offseason. The Brewers still have four more years of control for Turang, but they are also approaching a critical point in his contract status. He reached Super Two status this offseason and is projected to make $4.2 million in his first year of arbitration. After back-to-back strong seasons with the Brewers, is this a good time to extend him?
In his two-plus years in the majors so far, Turang has established himself as one of the premier second basemen in the league. His 4.4 fWAR in 2025 made him the third-best second baseman in the league. Over his last two seasons, his 7.0 fWAR is fourth among second basemen. While he maintained good defense in 2025, he became much more valuable on offense. His wRC+ rose from 88 in 2024 to 124 in 2025, and his batting line went from .254/.316/.349 to .288/.359/.435. Though his stolen bases dipped to just 24, his home run total increased from seven to 18. Early projections for next season see him cooling down a little but still maintaining a 2.9 fWAR (according to Steamer on FanGraphs).
With Turang a potential long-term piece for the Brewers, a long-term contract would make some sense. What would that look like for Turang? To get an idea, let’s look at some other notable second basemen who have signed long-term contracts recently. It’s important to note that there aren’t any rumors about an extension for Turang currently, this is just a look at what an extension would be if it happened.
One comparable for Turang would be Cubs’ second baseman Nico Hoerner. Before the 2024 season, he signed a three-year contract worth $35 million. Hoerner made $11.5 million in his last two seasons, and will make $12 million in 2026. That contract bought out his last two arbitration years and a year of free agency. Before he signed that contract, he put together seasons at 4.3 fWAR in 2022 and 4.5 fWAR in 2023. He also won his first Gold Glove in 2023 — the year before he signed that extension.
Tommy Edman of the Dodgers is another comparable contract. After making $4.2 million in his first year of arbitration, he signed a two-year, $16.5 million extension with the Cardinals before the 2024 season. Edman ended up being traded to the Dodgers in 2024. From there, he rolled the second year of that extension into a five-year contract with the Dodgers worth $74 million. He will average around $12 million for each of the remaining four years of his contract but also has $25 million that was deferred to pay out over ten years between 2035 and 2044. Edman was coming off of a 5.4 fWAR season before he hit arbitration, then had a 2.4 fWAR season in 2023. He missed most of 2024 after setbacks from wrist surgery delayed his season debut to mid-August but played well enough in the remainder of 2024 to earn that extension. Edman is also more of a utility player than just a second baseman. He also played third base and center field in 2025 and has also played some shortstop in his MLB career.
On the more extreme end, there’s the case of Padres’ second baseman Jake Cronenworth. He also made a comparable salary to Turang’s projection in his lone season of arbitration ($4.225 million). He also signed an extension before the 2024 season, but his was for seven years and $80 million. That included a raise to $7.285 million in 2024 and then $11.285 million in 2025. He’ll make $12.285 million in each of the last five years of his contract. Cronenworth was actually coming off of a down season (0.8 fWAR in 2023) before he signed his extension. However, he also had two All-Star years before that (3.7 fWAR in 2021, 3.6 fWAR in 2022).
Considering those numbers, a contract extension for Turang would need to at least start a bit above Hoerner and Cronenworth. The first two arbitration years could be smaller amounts, but the later years of arbitration, as well as any free agency years, would likely need to hit closer to a $13 million annual value. His arbitration projection of $4.2 million for 2026 is in line with the other players, and a second year of arbitration will put him closer to the $8 million mark. That would be the starting point for any extension. If the Brewers wanted to buy out a year of his free agency, they would be looking at a contract of at least five years and $60 million.
The advantage of signing him to an extension would be additional payroll flexibility. In a long-term contract, the Brewers could move around the money he’s being paid. They could increase the value in the early years and then reduce the hit in the later years. This would be extremely helpful in later years of the contract. The Brewers have no shortage of players that are going to hit arbitration in the next couple of years. As many as nine current Brewers (seven at two-plus years of service, plus another two Super Two potential players) could hit their first year of arbitration after 2026. Another five could join after 2027.
However, the Brewers aren’t necessarily in need of a long-term second baseman. The Brewers’ top three prospects (per MLB.com) are all infielders. Though all three (Jesús Made, Luis Peña, Cooper Pratt) currently play shortstop, there will need to be some shuffling if more than one of them makes it to the majors. Second base could help spread them out. and all have played some second base in the minors.
That also doesn’t exclude Turang from the future, though. The Brewers still have a potential hole at first base to cover in a few years. Jake Bauers is in his last year of arbitration, and Andrew Vaughn has only two years left (and a rising contract). There’s also the DH role, which is currently held by Christian Yelich. He will also likely be gone after 2028, opening a spot there as well.
The future is looking bright for Turang. As one of the most valuable pieces of the team in 2025, he will be needed to keep the team strong in the coming years. An extension now would help lock in Turang for the future and give the Brewers some payroll stability in the coming years. The question is if both sides would be interested in making it happen.
