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Former Blue Jay Justin Turner signs one-year deal with Cubs
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Feb 18, 2025, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 18, 2025, 11:27 EST
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A former Toronto Blue Jay has found a new home.
The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney reported Tuesday morning that the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a one-year deal with Justin Turner worth $6 million.
Turner, now 40, was drafted back in 2006 and has been in the big leagues since 2009 when he got his start with the Baltimore Orioles.  After a couple of seasons with the New York Mets, it was with the Los Angeles Dodgers that Turner made his mark. Over the course of nine seasons, Turner slashed .296/.375/.490 with 156 home runs in 4,220 plate appearances with the team from 2014 until 2022.
After his time with the Dodgers, where he won a World Series ring in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Turner signed with the Boston Red Sox before the beginning of the 2023 season. That year, he slashed .276/.345/.455 with 23 home runs, the fourth-most in his long career.
Turner turned his solid 2023 season into a one-year deal with the Blue Jays before the start of the 2024 season. In 349 plate appearances with the Blue Jays, Turner slashed .256/.350/.372 with six home runs in 349 plate appearances for a 112 wRC+ and a 0.5 fWAR. At the 2024 trade deadline, Turner was traded to the Seattle Mariners for outfield prospect RJ Schreck.
Post-trade, Turner improved as he slashed .264/.363/.403 with five home runs in 190 plate appearances for a 126 wRC+ and a 0.7 fWAR. Unfortunately, he (and Yimi García) failed to make the postseason with the Mariners, with García re-signing with the Blue Jays earlier this off-season.
The Cubs were seen as one of the front-runners to land Alex Bregman before he signed with the Boston Red Sox. Turner is one of a handful of former Blue Jays on the Cubs’ 40-man, joining Jon Berti, Matt Boyd, Julian Merryweather, and Nate Pearson.
Hopefully, Turner can have another successful season at the big league level and chase another World Series ring.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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