MESA, Ariz. — After striking out on signing premier free agent Alex Bregman, the Chicago Cubs are close to bringing in 40-year-old infielder Justin Turner, sources told the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday.
The one-year agreement is for $6 million, according to The Athletic, which first reported the deal.
Reaction in the Cubs clubhouse Tuesday morning was positive, as expected. Turner’s reputation as a winning player and a grinder makes him a good fit for a mostly veteran team.
“He’s been a really good player for a long time,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “He’s someone we can really learn a lot from, his experience and (the fact) he’s such a pro at what he does. I think it will really impact this group, especially from a position player’s standpoint and an offensive standpoint.”
Left fielder Ian Happ lauded Turner’s situational hitting and ability to stay consistent into his late 30s, saying Turner has “reinvented himself and played forever and had success at the highest level.”
Turner’s arrival seemingly would take some pressure off rookie Matt Shaw, who is expected to start at third base. But Turner primarily will be a backup to first baseman Michael Busch, a designated hitter and an experienced bat off the bench. Nico Hoerner is mending from offseason flexor tendon surgery, but Turner is not expected to play second base unless there’s an emergency.
While Turner has played mostly third in his career, over the last two seasons he played 84 games at first base, 13 at third, 10 at second and 185 at DH.
“It’s not just good for Matt, it’s good for all of us,” Swanson said.
The low-risk signing would bring another proven veteran to the clubhouse and end any speculation the Cubs might bring back fan favorite Anthony Rizzo, who remains unsigned.
Turner is a career .285 hitter with a 124 OPS+ and proved in the second half of 2024 that he wasn’t ready to retire, hitting .297 with an .818 OPS for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. Overall he finished last season with a .259 average, 11 home runs and 55 RBIs in 139 games.
A two-time All-Star, Turner is only two years removed from a 23-homer, 96-RBI season for the Boston Red Sox. He spent nine of his 16 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where Cubs fans knew him well.
Turner was named MVP of the 2017 National League Championship Series, which the Dodgers won 4-1 over the Cubs. His walk-off, three-run home run off John Lackey in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium gave the Dodgers a 2-0 series lead and in effect spelled the end of the Cubs’ hopes for a repeat of their 2016 World Series title.
Lackey, a starting pitcher, was added to the bullpen for the NLCS, and Cubs manager Joe Maddon inserted him in the ninth inning when closer Wade Davis was reportedly not available. The Cubs haven’t won a postseason series since beating the Washington Nationals to advance to the 2017 NLCS.
After missing out on Bregman, who signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox, Cubs President Jed Hoyer said they had some money left in the budget “for small in-season things.”
The Turner signing would qualify as a “small” move, and it could be the last key addition of the offseason.
Adding roster depth has been one of Hoyer’s main objectives, especially after the Cubs opted to let go of role players Mike Tauchman, Miles Mastrobuoni, Patrick Wisdom and Nick Madrigal.
“I feel like we’ve made big gains,” Happ said of the additions. “The construction of the roster … from a position player’s side is really well set up.”
