(670 The Score) In seeking to bolster their lineup and bench, the Cubs made a key addition by agreeing on a one-year, $6-million deal with infielder Justin Turner on Tuesday.
Turner, 40, is a 16-year MLB veteran with a career .821 OPS who won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020. He posted a .737 OPS in 139 games with the Mariners and Blue Jays in 2024 and now will provide depth for a Cubs team that needed it at third base, first base and off the bench.
For his part, Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner is thrilled by the addition of Turner, he told the Spiegel & Holmes Show on Tuesday.
“I got to be honest, it’s one that really, really fires me up,” Hoerner said of the Cubs bringing Turner into the fold. “From the standpoint that he’s a player who I've really enjoyed watching hit for so long, and I just have so much respect for him in so many ways as a player. From his offensive profile, obviously it’s been well-documented how much he improved at the major league level, and then the sustained success in an era of baseball when players so quickly are not given an opportunity after 31 or 32. For him to do it at 40 and just continue to produce at such a high rate – it fits out lineup and our needs incredibly well. I’m just so excited to have him around and watch him do his daily work. It’s going to be really, really fun.
“There’s so much more to his game than that. I feel like he’s as good as anyone in baseball situationally, he’s got a backside line drive whenever he wants it, he walks, he doesn’t strike out at a high clip. Like, he’s just a really, really well-rounded offensive player and someone who can kind of do anything you ask at the plate. He’s the kind of offensive player that I've wanted to be and a lot of us strive for, and he’s done it for a long, long time. Big situations, big games. It will be great to have him around.”