The 2025 season was a tough one for two-time All-Star Justin Turner, who batted just .219/.288/.314 in 191 plate appearances with the Cubs. Between that rough showing and Turner’s looming 41st birthday later this month, some have wondered whether he’ll continue playing. Agent Greg Genske of Vayner Sports tells Jon Morosi of MLB Network that Turner indeed is intent on playing in what would be his 18th major league season in 2026.
The 2025 season was the first below-average season Turner has had at the plate since establishing himself as a big league regular. He hit .259/.354/.384 between Boston and Seattle in 2024 and was 16% better than average at the plate in both ’23 and ’24, by measure of wRC+. This year’s downturn in production was steep, but it came in a relatively minimal sample and wasn’t accompanied by a glaring uptick in punchouts Turner’s strikeout rate did climb from 17.6% to 19.4%, but his contact rate — specifically his contact rate on balls within the strike zone — was largely unchanged.
Virtually all of Turner’s struggles in 2025 came against right-handed pitching. He tallied 109 plate appearances versus lefties and delivered a solid .276/.330/.429 batting line (112 wRC+). Against right-handed opponents, he was one of the worst hitters in MLB: .141/.232/.155 in 82 plate appearances (a gruesome 16 wRC+). At least some of that is attributable to a .179 BABIP against righties, though his struggles can’t be blamed solely on poor fortune. Turner’s 39.7% ground-ball rate was his highest since 2014, and he posted career-worst marks in pop-up rate, line-drive rate and hard-hit rate.
Based on Turner’s age and last year’s lack of production, anything more than a modest one-year deal seems unreasonable. Turner’s one-year deal with the Cubs paid him a guaranteed $6MM, and he’ll almost certainly need to take a pay cut on that sum. Last year’s struggles will make a club reluctant to offer him regular at-bats, but a team with payroll concerns and a left-handed option at first base/DH could view him as an affordable veteran roll of the dice who brings plenty of clubhouse benefits to the fold. Clubs like the Padres (Gavin Sheets), Rangers (Joc Pederson), Guardians (Kyle Manzardo, C.J. Kayfus) and Royals (Vinnie Pasquantino) all have lefty-hitting first base and/or designated hitter options that struggled against southpaws in 2025.
Who is giving this guy a Major League deal?
Fair comment. I guess if he said he didn’t plan to play then, by design, nobody would call.
I would guess the phone stays silent and then some time in March he signs one of those one day deals and retires as a Dodger.
Would love to see Turner as hitting coach
Likely a late signing after injuries occur in spring training.
Agreed
Did Turner say he would insist on an MLB guarantee? If he wants to play badly enough, he would probably welcome an NRI to spring training with the right team.
Time to go home
Let another man to have a job
Go and enjoy your family 💕
I think someone will. He is just one season removed from being productive, 2025 was a short sample size and peripherals indicate he could still be. You don’t have enough to come down so hard.
He’s 41 and has been on a steady decline for a while. Highly doubt he has anything in the tank at this point. He can’t really play defense or hit RHPs all that well anymore so his role is limited to platoon 1B/DH. Really aside from the annually craptastic teams stuck in rebuilding mode, he likely won’t land a big league job.
He could platoon and take a some DH time. He won’t make much but again, that small sample size and his peripherals are legitemate arguments that he can swing the bat pretty well, still. I guess we’re making a gentlemens bet on this.
I just don’t see him landing on a team that wants to/can win stuff as soon as possible. Backup 1B/DHs generally don’t produce much value because they’re so limited as is. I do think a rebuilding club will take him, mainly because they don’t have anybody better in house/want that veteran leadership guy to help teach the young players how to handle life in the MLB.
His leadership is under valued. I was against Boston getting him, believing he was selfish after the 2020 WS celebration incident and I was wrong. He was great in Boston and depending on the 26 roster construction and injuries, I could see him in Boston. Should Bregman leave and Mayer takes over, he could mentor him with Story. Rumors have Alonso going to Boston but I still see him staying with the Mets. If Casas returns at first and Ref also leaves, Turner could DH against lefties and be the emergency corner infielder.
80 games is not a small sample size
A young team in need of leadership like the O’s or a cheap team that’s desperate for a bat like Pitt…but more likely he signs a minor league contract with someone and gets cut during spring training and then retires.
Colorado?
He has a young kid to feed! Then let’s give him food stamps.
I appreciate the enthusiasm, and I tip my cap to a wonderful & lengthy career for JT, but the profile here is impossible to utilize.
-DH only
-negative baserunning + fielding value
-unplayable against 70% of MLB pitchers, and merely above average against the remaining 30%
-no remaining power
a more suitable role would be into coaching.
He plays a decent 1B and can at least stand at 3B, so I don’t think he is truly DH only.
completely disagree on both assessments
In 218 innings at 1B this year, he put up +2 DRS and +1 OAA/DRS. He can at least stand there and catch throws. I agree he shouldn’t play 3B anymore though.
Sign with the Rockies. He’ll put up inflated numbers and the team is garbage.
Too expensive for the Rockies.
He’d probably sign for cheap if he wants to keep playing
Inflate numbers in Denver then back to reality when he gets traded in July.
I hear Korea is very nice – modern, good fans
is that his plan?
MLB rosters used to have more room for limited, older guys.
Are there any current MLB players who can be called primarily a pinch hitter?
No, they gave those PH roster spots to starters who can only throw 90 pitches and relievers that only throw 20.
Most plate appearances as PH was Grichuk with 50, then Ibanez and Jones on the Tigers. Dylan Moore and Turner were the only other guys with more than 30.
Yeah the old Vet who rides the pine all year and gets a few pinch hit at bats died with the universal DH and the expansion of bullpens. RIP to anyone over 36 who can’t mash.
Like Smoky Burgess. Finished his career in 1967 at age 40 (which today would be like playing to at least 50) and had the physique of my late Uncle George.
Didn’t he have 144 pinch hits? Was long term leader for many years
Not sure about Burgess but it was always fun to see Manny Mota or Minnie Miniso come up to pinch hit. The best I can remember though was Rusty Staub.
Justin Turner never played for Boston in 2024. He did, however, play for Toronto and Seattle in 2024. Turner played for Boston in 2023.
He’s going to have to play in Korea or Mexico.
He must like playing baseball because most would retire after a great career and his age. I could definitely see him playing at replacement level but being a valuable playoff roster guy (like Miguel Rojas) or a vet leader on a bad team like the Rockies.
Anyone knocking him needs to understand the game.He will come cheap and a veteran to help young guys. Still will get you some knocks. I would love Arizona to sign him as a bench bat.
He is to old to relate to young players..you don’t need a Dad on your 26 man roster.
young MLB guys who are good and want to improve love having an older guy like this in the clubhouse unless they are jerks. it’s not really about relating to them. it’s about learning from them. most young guys who want to be successful soak up opportunities to learn from guys like JT, especially one with as much playoff experience as him.
it’s a waste of a roster spot
I agree. The guy loves the game, I get it. But he’s made more than 140 mil in his career and prospects are waiting.
@letitbelowenstein you could’ve ended it at where you said “The guy loves the game.”
The most he’s probably getting is a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation. Other than that, a trip to the Mexican Baseball League is in his future.
Agree he’s probably looking at a minor league contract with a spring training invitation, but I doubt he’d be interested in a foreign league. Not many players come back from that trip, and not especially at his age.
You’re probably right, Justin might not want to try a foreign league. He might also not want a minor league deal. We’ll know by Spring Training where he lands.
I am remembering especially the long strange trip of Manny Ramirez in trying to battle back into the game at age 40+ through foreign leagues. He performed well in those leagues but it didn’t buy him a return ticket to the majors.
Manny definitely tried to regain his form, but he simply ran out of juice.
So to speak….?
I was being clever with my play on words. There’s definitely two meanings behind my comment on Manny. Loved watching him play, but he certainly has a history.
Not to be unkind–he had a very good career–but when your most valuable assets are that you are “great in the clubhouse” and “a great role model for the young guys”–it’s time to hang ’em up. Cubs fans felt all season like the roster spot could have been better used.
Has Pittsburgh or Cincy written all over him
Alan53
Cubs could have cut him and signed someone else at the trade deadline if they felt that way.
But they didn’t. Because you need an old head who’s been there and done that. Justin has been dfa’d earlier in his career, been an all-star after that, won a world series. And seen what a winning and a losing clubhouse looks and feels like. His perseverance and attitude make him valuable. His baseball knowledge is extremely helpful on many levels.
And he might want to play another season because he gives a lot of money to the charity he runs with his wife.
His benefit to the clubhouse with his knowledge of the game and overall professionalism would be an asset to a team with young players ready to compete. He can still hit lefties. I figure he gets a spring invite at a minimum , though a guaranteed contract may be difficult
Who doesnt love JT
LA legend on and off the field.
Plans or hopes?
I also plan to see ball hit ball in 2026. Players gotta play.
M E X I C O
This guy loves playing baseball. A smart Gm would pick him up. I am 73 and I can still hit.
Would like t o thank everyone for all my likes in 2025, (none). It means a lot to me. Go ahead and just mail a check..
He’s tied with HOFer Harold Baines for WAR. I guess he wants one more season just to solidify his own HOF career.
Baines getting into the Hall remains the best argument for Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy’s inclusions.
I think we just call Baines a player the system allowed to slip through the cracks. He isn’t a hall of famer and it doesn’t matter that he has a plaque on the wall he still isn’t a hall of famer. He will always have an asterisk next to his name as an example of some weird circumstance that took place that allowed him to circumvent the HOF process. Just like there are some very valuable baseball cards of no name players because of some misprint or blemish, that’s what Baines has become to the hall of fame…..a misprint or blemish.
D’backs to pair with Pavin Smith at DH and serve as a mentor to Locklear?
Planning and doing are two very different things
I could see Turner ending career with A’s. A’s need a 3B and JT could even occasionally play first if Kurtz needs a day off or is DH. Some former Dodgers legends ended up with A’s – Piazza and Garciaparra come to mind.
don_mossi_ears Eric Karros went to Oakland late in his career.
I just read a story saying he retired. He is very well liked and respected, he should go into coaching
Sometimes in MLB, retirement isn’t your choice.
I plan to procure a pony ride for birthdays
Your birthdays or someone else’s?
Optional
Enjoy the ride!
Look, Justin Turner is turning 41, but if we have learned anything from Bruce Bochy’s hat size and Adolis García’s energy level, it’s that age is just a number, especially if you can still hit lefties and he looks in better shape then Joc Pederson!!!
Turner had a rough 2025 season (.219 average), but that’s still better than my batting average in church league softball because I am 60 years old and cannot run anymore. Against left-handed pitchers, though: The man still delivered: .276/.330/.429. translation: he can still make southpaws cry softly into their gloves.
And guess what? The Rangers could use that. Joc Pederson handles righties just fine, but against lefties he looks like he’s trying to swat flies with a pool noodle. Turner and Joc could make the perfect “good cop, bad cop” DH platoon, only in this version, the “bad cop” brings the snacks (Joc of course) and leadership advice (RED DREAM).
Turner also brings intangibles, those mysterious things GMs mention when someone’s bat slows down but their brain does not. He’s a World Series champ, a two-time All-Star, and a professional clubhouse dad. The Rangers’ young stars could learn a lot from a guy who’s been through every kind of postseason chaos short of riding a horse into the parade.
Plus, he will come cheap. For the price of one slightly-used bullpen arm, you get a veteran mentor, playoff experience, and a backup 1B who can still outthink most pitchers.
So, Texas; go ahead and make the call. Worst case, Turner gives great postgame interviews and teaches Wyatt Langford how to grow a proper playoff beard. Best case? He hits a game-winning double in October, flips his bat, and we all pretend we saw it coming.
Sign him. Feed him barbecue. Let the red beard ride again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mariners Legend Justin Turner
Not a dodgers fan but he would make a nice platoon with Muncy.