Brewers: Is Brice Turang Now A Trade Chip At The Trade Deadline?

With the 2021 Trade Deadline coming up in about a month and a half, the Brewers will have some decisions to make on who they want to get and who is available to trade.

When the Brewers selected Brice Turang in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft, it marked the first time they took a shortstop in the first round since Bill Spiers in 1987. That 31 year drought between first round shortstops coincided with a lot of turnover at the position. The Brewers took Turang with an eye on him being the shortstop of the future.

However, a wrench may have been thrown in those plans, and it has nothing to do with Turang’s performance. He’s the youngest player in Double-A South and he’s hitting .303 with a .786 OPS and seven stolen bases. By all accounts, he’s right on track, and he could potentially be in the big leagues next year.

But the Brewers big league shortstop situation has changed.

With the addition of Willy Adames, is Brice Turang now a trade chip at the Deadline for the Brewers?

The Brewers brought in Willy Adames in a shocking May trade, and he’s been excellent for them, hitting .308/.384/.508 with three home runs and a 143 OPS+.

Adames is also under team control for another three seasons, and won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season. If he keeps up what he’s doing, providing strong offense and defense at shortstop, there isn’t a spot at shortstop for Turang.

Perhaps Turang could handle second base, but Kolten Wong is under team control for another one or two seasons and there’s Luis Urias who should be capable of handling a starting role in this infield somewhere.

With Turang blocked at his primary position, and no easy way to get in at his secondary position, perhaps it makes sense for the Brewers to trade Turang at the deadline to help impact the team elsewhere.

It would not be easy, especially with what Turang can bring to the table, but if the Brewers need to make a splash at the deadline, that’s going to cost them one of their top prospects and Turang is the one among them who is blocked.

The Brewers won’t be looking to trade away Turang, and he can still be a big part of the future in Milwaukee. But with the long-term addition of Adames at shortstop, Turang has to at least be considered as a trade chip and other teams are likely to ask for him.

We’ll see if Adames’ hot hitting ways last and if he’s able to lock down the shortstop job for the foreseeable future. So far things are looking that way, and if that continues, the idea of Turang being a trade chip will grow as the needs at the corner infield spots continue to get worse.

This is the price of being contenders at the trade deadline. In order to get big league help, they have to trade away some prospects.