According to The Athletic, the Chicago Cubs have talked about signing veteran free agent Justin Turner. The 40-year-old is coming off another solid year at the plate, posting a 117 wRC+ with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners in 2024.
The interest by the Cubs in Turner is framed around the team's pursuit of top free agent Alex Bregman. You can't really qualify Turner as a backup option to Bregman, but more so that the Cubs can still add quality players if Bregman does not choose the Cubs in free agency. Turner can be a solid bench bat and provide backup insurance at the corner infield spots behind Michael Busch at first base and Matt Shaw at third.
Via The Athletic.
The Chicago Cubs, continuing to explore options even after the start of their spring training, are considering free agent Justin Turner as a potential addition in case Alex Bregman signs with another team, multiple league sources told The Athletic on Monday.
Turner and his wife Kourtney, who is from Indiana, are intrigued by the idea of spending the summer in Chicago, league sources said. Going to Wrigley Field as a Cub would complete a sort of big-market circle for Turner, who already has played for the Red Sox, Dodgers and New York Mets during his 16-year major-league career.
The Cubs have been interested in Turner for a few years, but the veteran has eventually signed one-year deals with the Boston Red Sox and Blue Jays following his nine-year run with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-handed hitter saw his slugging numbers dip a bit in 2024, as Turner only had 11 home runs in 539 plate appearances.
However, Turner maintained a strong walk rate above 10% and ended the 2024 season with a slash line of .259/.354/.383. After he was traded to Seattle Turner posted a .766 OPS in 48 games, slashing .264/.363/.403, with five home runs.
So, maybe this public interest in Turner by the Cubs makes sense. He fits the roster nicely, but this might also be the Cubs trying to get Bregman to make up his mind about whether or not he's signing with the Cubs. It wouldn't make much sense for the Cubs to sign both, so they need to know if they should move on from Bregman and sign Turner before Turner signs with someone else.
Who knows what Bregman wants at this point, but if we look at the Cubs current bench situation in the infield, you can see why Turner would be a solid pickup. Let's say Shaw does earn the starting job at third base, the other bench options are Jon Berti, Vidal Bruján, Nicky Lopez and Gage Workman. Berti is the best out of that group, while the rest haven't proven much at the plate and Workman hasn't even played above Double-A.
