What’s next for Chicago Cubs’ Justin Turner beyond the 2025 MLB season?
The Cubs have 37 games left on their 2025 schedule ahead of Wednesday’s home game with National League Central rival Milwaukee Brewers. With the Brewers leading their division by nine full games ahead of the Cubs with five weeks to go before postseason play starts, Chicago needs hot bats and Gold Glove-like performances in the field to stay at the top of the National League Wild Card chase.
Pinch-hitting or being inserted into the Cubs’ lineup as the designated hitter, Turner could very well be the “wild card” when it comes to Chicago’s manager Craig Counsell’s reserve options.
Turner is a winner. He was part of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ championship club in 2020. A few seasons earlier with the Dodgers, Turner was selected for the 2017 National League Championship Series MVP. Throw in a couple all-star selections, and his credibility in the clubhouse and on the bench is unparalleled. When the Cubs inked the 17-season veteran to a one-year deal this past February, they had their “insurance policy” for when others on the 26-man roster could be slumping.
With outfielder Kyle Tucker struggling at the plate, hitting .148 in August and not collecting a single extra-base hit, Turner’s presence has become increasingly important. Owen Caissie, the Cubs’ top prospect, was called up to make his MLB debut less than one week ago in Toronto is hitting an anemic .125.
Although Turner’s offensive numbers through his 64-game appearances aren’t much better than some of his full-time playing teammates, his experience at reading pitchers and at judging fielders is enough of an advantage to give others a day or two off to re-energize.
With a limited number of plate appearances this season (138 at-bats), and seeing game action in nearly half of all Cubs’ games, Turner’s .217 is misleading. He has come through in the clutch. Earlier this month, on Aug. 3, in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Turner pinch hit. His blast, the first walk-off home run of his career, quieted naysayers who thought the super-utility player may be in the last innings of his playing days.
With the Cubs in solid second place in the National League Central, staying ahead of the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres is where their available strategies should be designed through the end of September. This is where having Turner, rested and prepared for the opposition, is a huge plus for Chicago. His lifetime .284 is well ahead of the overall 2025 MLB batting average of .246.
Turner is someone fans of all other 29 MLB clubs could cheer openly or to themselves in ballparks. He continues to use his celebrity for others to benefit. In 2022, Turner was selected as the recipient of MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award. The award is given annually to a player who best exemplifies the game through community involvement and other energies displayed to his team. Clemente died in 1972 in a plane crash while delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
The Justin Turner Foundation also assists a variety of community-minded causes. Among the groups that Turner has supported through funding and his time are Paralyzed Veterans of America and children who are battling life-altering illnesses.
Philanthropic generosity aside, Turner’s mere presence at Wrigley Field, or wherever the Cubs are on the road, exemplifies sportsmanship at its best. Turner, 40, doesn’t have that many more postseasons to dream of. Whether he plays his last career game in 2025, or depending on his health and other teams’ needs come spring, Turner’s most important games of the 1,742 he’s played in since 2009, when he began his career with the Orioles, are the 38 remaining this season.
Economics of the game, debating when or if a ballplayer’s skills have declined to the extent they warrant a release or trade is insignificant at this point of the season. Teammates tend to get “tighter” as a unit down the stretch. Seiya Suzuki is Chicago’s first-line designated hitter. Michael Busch is the club’s first baseman. Up and down the Cubs’ depth chart, Turner is the backup to infielders. He is a luxury that Counsell had hoped for when Chicago signed Turner prior to spring training.
Moving around from club to club, for veterans looking at the tail end of their careers, this isn’t limited to Turner but rather the norm.
Hall of Fame-bound Blue Jays’ pitcher Max Scherzer has been with three teams over the past four seasons. Same for another sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Famer, Justin Verlander of the San Francisco Giants. He, too, has pitched for three different teams over the last four seasons. Looking as far back as the late 1980s, Hall of Fame hurler Steve Carlton appeared for five teams over a four-season period. For Turner, playing for five clubs since the 2022 season seems normal for veterans with his number of years of service.
Being a “hired bat” over the past few seasons fits Turner’s desire to get one more World Series ring, and at the same time mentor the next generation of ballplayers—by his words and actions.
