Brice Turang’s season didn’t jump off the page in the usual way. He finished with 21 home runs and 19 steals, which is solid production, but not the kind that usually screams MVP finalist. Still, MLB put the Brewers second baseman on the list for the 2026 National League Most Valuable Player Award, alongside Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The case for Turang is built on everything beyond the basic box score. Baseball Reference credited him with 7.3 Wins Above Replacement, the highest total on the Brewers roster by a wide margin among hitters. The next closest was ace Jacob Misiorowski at 6.5, and Misiorowski is the favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award.
Turang’s offensive line was good, not flashy: .268/.366/.450 with a 124 OPS+. That kind of season may have been part of why he was arguably the biggest All-Star snub of the year.
But the broader picture shows why he ended up in the MVP conversation anyway. He provided value in the field, on the bases, and at the plate, giving the Brewers impact in every phase.
That defensive work stood out in a big way. Turang won the National League Gold Glove Award at second base, posted a 2.9 dWAR that led all NL players, and topped all MLB second basemen with +23 defensive runs saved. He was one of two Brewers to take home a Gold Glove, joining left fielder Jackson Chourio.
Even with Christian Yelich serving as the team captain and Chourio emerging as the young star, Turang has become the face of what this Brewers team does well. The 26-year-old second baseman was also the player who got the final out defensively for Milwaukee, another reminder of how much trust the club placed in him.
His value hasn’t been limited to one season, either. From 2024 through 2026, Turang has produced 17.6 bWAR, a stretch that makes a strong case for him as the best second baseman in MLB over that span.
Turang is probably not going to win the MVP award. Crow-Armstrong is expected to take it, and Ohtani could still finish ahead of him because of his two-way value, even if injuries slowed him in the second half.
But the Brewers being represented in both the MVP and Cy Young races says plenty about the season they put together. A 103-win team that finished as the best club in MLB in 2026 is going to show up in award voting, and Milwaukee is right in the middle of it.
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The Brewers young core picked up another layer of credibility when Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio were named 2026 National League Gold Glove Award winners. Turang added a second career Gold Glove at second base, while Chourio earned his first in left field, a fitting nod for two players who spent the season setting the tone for Milwaukee with their gloves as much as their bats.
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Turang picked up the second Gold Glove of his career after leading MLB in defensive runs saved at his position, while Chourio earned his first after pacing the National League in fielding run value. Both now move into Platinum Glove consideration, with the winners set to be revealed at a ceremony in New York City on Nov. 6. [Read more 🡒]
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For a Brewers team trying to keep its core intact while sorting through the rest of the roster, keeping Contreras in place would be a major stabilizing move. His value goes well beyond the numbers, and the front office now appears to have at least one foundational decision made, even if other parts of the bullpen picture are still very much up in the air. [Read more 🡒]