Category Archives: finance

It’s news in the sense that it is a transaction that today occurred, but this is one of those transactions that was always going to occur. Justin Turner is a free agent: As expected, Justin Turner has become a free-agent. That means the Cubs declined his $10M team option for ’26, in favor of the $2M buyout.— Jordan Bastian (@bastianmlb.bsky.social) 2025-11-06T15:04:13.790Z When the Cubs signed Turner to join their bench last year, the contract’s structure may have included an option, but it was really just a way to push out $2 million of the salary in the form of a buyout. This outcome was preordained. Turner, 41 later this month, hit .219/.288/.314/71 wRC+ over 191 PAs with the Cubs this year. That’s pretty ugly for a bat-only guy, but it’s softened considerably by the fact that, against lefties, he was pretty solid (.276/.330/.429/112 wRC+), and his clubhouse presence was clearly a huge plus. I think the Cubs would say they got their money’s worth on the original deal ($6 million total), and they’ll wish Turner well in whatever comes next. It could be another bench job, it could be a minor league deal, or it could be retirement. We’ll always have his two walk-off winners for the Cubs this year: Continue reading Cubs Buy Out Justin Turner, Who Becomes a Free Agent→