Brice Turang, a platinum glove award winner as a second baseman, recently appeared to be the Milwaukee Brewers front runner to play shortstop in 2025. Unfortunately, issues with his throwing arm have kept him sidelined and have propelled Joey Ortiz as the favorite to play the premier position instead. Buried in this development is the fact that financially, Turang stands to lose the most by remaining at second base.
Pay scale differences between second basemen and shortstops
Like all sports, certain positions get paid more money. Baseball is no different as historically shortstops make more than second basemen. One caveat would be if a player was a shortstop and then switched to being a second baseman (ex: Xander Bogaerts and Marcus Semien).
Right now, Jose Altuve is the highest paid true second baseman, having signed a five year $125 million deal. After him the pay scale drops off significantly. It took a seven year deal for Andres Gimenez to get paid $105 million. Ketel Marte comes in after at five years, $76.0 million, and then Jeff McNeil at four years, $50.0 million.
Why this is important for Brice Turang
25 year old Turang is currently one season away from entering arbitration. Like free agency, the pay scale in arbitration favors shortstops to make more money than second basemen. David Gasper of Athlon Sports recently wrote the following on the matter:
“This minor shoulder injury at the end of camp for Turang likely is going to cost him millions of dollars in the long run. When it comes to arbitration, second base is valued different than shortstop, and especially when it comes to free agency second base is valued differently than shortstop. You don’t see $300 million second basemen. You do see $300 million shortstops.”
-David Gasper of Athlon Sports
Will the Milwaukee Brewers re-consider placing Turang at shortstop?
The Brewers current decision to keep Turang at second base and Ortiz at shortstop is based solely on the long term health of Turang’s arm. They aren’t trying to rob Turang of millions of dollars, this is simply the smartest move right now. This isn’t to say that thinking won’t change, but for now Turang appears locked in at second base.
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