Brewers’ Brice Turang and Sal Frelick come up empty handed in quest for repeat Gold Glove awards

In the National League, the second base Gold Glove was awarded to Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs. Hoener won the award in 2023, but was edged out by Turang a season ago. Xavier Edwards of the Miami Marlins was also a finalist.

While defensive metrics are not perfect, Turang had the edge over Hoerner in Fangraph’s Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, with Turang coming in at 29 and Hoerner 21. However, Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average (OAA) gave Hoerner the edge at 15, and Turang -1.

In right field, Sal Frelick was up against Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres. Despite Frelick holding a clear advantage in Defensive Runs Saved, with 25 DRS compared to Tatis Jr.’s 15 and Carroll’s 10, Tatis Jr. ultimately won the Gold Glove award.

Furthermore, Frelick’s 16 outfield assists far outpaced Tatis Jr.’s 11 and even exceeded Carroll’s 13. Considering both his superior DRS and assist totals, it’s clear that Frelick had a strong case and arguably should have been the rightful Gold Glove winner.

Ultimately, both Frelick and Turang were deserving of greater recognition for their 2025 defensive seasons. Frelick’s league-leading DRS and outfield assists clearly positioned him as one of the top right fielders in the National League, yet the Gold Glove went elsewhere. Similarly, Turang’s exceptional performance up the middle placed him among the elite, but he also missed out on the award.

While the accolades went to other players, the advanced metrics leave little doubt that both Frelick and Turang were snubbed, highlighting just how impactful and underrated their defensive contributions were throughout the season.