Brice Turang arrived at Tropicana Field on Sunday with the Brewers holding a 2-0 World Series edge, but the conversation around Milwaukee’s second baseman reached back to his first professional contract. It centered on a line Turang says he cannot remember delivering — and one club officials insist he said.
After Milwaukee selected Turang with the 21st pick of the 2018 Draft, the former Santiago High School shortstop had LSU waiting if a deal could not be reached. As the signing deadline approached, the gap in bonus discussions was substantial, though the exact figure remains unclear.
Quick facts
- The Brewers lead the World Series 2-0 entering Game 3 on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
- Turang was Milwaukee’s No. 21 overall pick in the 2018 Draft out of Santiago High School in Corona, California.
- He hit 21 home runs and drove in a team-leading 100 runs during the 2026 regular season.
- Turang is 1-for-6 in the Series, with three walks and a Game 2 double that helped set up the winning run.
- He won a Gold Glove and the NL Platinum Glove in 2024, and he is again in contention for a Gold Glove to be announced Nov. 1.
The disputed story is that Turang told then-general manager David Stearns, in effect, that Milwaukee should not let $1 million prevent it from signing a future Hall of Famer. Turang’s personality now makes the claim sound almost too bold: he has become one of the club’s most productive players while remaining among its most reserved.
When asked about it earlier this year at Wrigley Field, Turang said the supposed Hall of Fame remark surprised him. He said maturity had changed him, adding that players learn humility as they get older.
Matt Arnold, now the Brewers’ president of baseball operations, was not buying the denial. Arnold said he listened to the call between Turang and Stearns and remembered telling Stearns that the club needed to get the deal finished because it thought highly of the young infielder.
Turang conceded that he recalls pressing the point about Milwaukee allowing him to head to college over the money on the table. But he maintained that he did not remember attaching a Hall of Fame prediction to it. Arnold countered that Turang did say it, then added that he hopes the player proves himself right.
Confidence met production
There is still an enormous road between a strong career and Cooperstown, but Turang’s climb has been steady. Manager Pat Murphy forecast a major jump after Turang’s difficult rookie season in 2024, and the second baseman answered with stronger offense while establishing himself as the National League’s top defender.
That season brought both a Gold Glove at second base and the NL Platinum Glove, awarded to the league’s best overall defensive player. His power then began to surface: Turang went from 13 homers across his first two Major League seasons to 18 in 2025.
In 2026, he raised the bar again with 21 home runs and 100 RBIs, joining eight other Major Leaguers to reach triple digits in RBIs. Murphy said Turang’s self-belief was part of why he expected the breakout, noting that the player always understood his own ability.
Turang has not yet found much room to hit in this World Series, but his Game 2 double in the seventh inning mattered. The extra-base hit put the Brewers in position for Cooper Pratt’s go-ahead knock, pushing Milwaukee to its second straight win.
Arnold believes LSU could have made Turang an even higher future Draft selection. He said Turang had the toughness, shortstop defense and hitting ability to become a top-two or top-three pick had he gone to Baton Rouge.
Turang’s answer was simpler: the path he chose worked out. Then, with a smile, he offered one more version of the old negotiating story — saying he would not have needed to make any call at all if Milwaukee had simply met the price.
