The Chicago Cubs have signed third baseman Justin Turner according to David Kaplan. The terms of the deal have not been released yet. Turner, who turned 40 in November, is certainly on the backend of his career, but he is still a really good hitter. Last year, between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays, Turner slashed .259/.354/.383 and had just a 17.6% strikeout rate. It was rumored that the Cubs would target Turner after missing out on Alex Bregman last week who signed with the Boston Red Sox.

Turner will be the perfect guy to mentor top prospect Matt Shaw who the Cubs are hoping will win the third base job in Spring Training. It is so valuable to have a guy that has been around the league for more than 15 years and was on the 2020 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Shaw can certainly learn a lot about hitting and what it takes to be a successful player in the majors from Turner.

This move also makes the overall team quite a bit deeper. The Cubs have Seiya Suzuki penciled in to be the every day designated hitter, but if an outfielder gets hurt, Seiya can step in and play the outfield and Turner can DH. Turner can also fill in at either corner infield spot in the event of an injury or struggles there.

This probably puts a bow on the offseason for the Cubs. Bregman was really the last big ticket item the Cubs had a chance to add. Once he went to the Red Sox it was pretty obvious that the Cubs would not be making any major moves before the 2025 season kicks off. Most people hoped Jed Hoyer would make more of a splash this offseason, but the moves they made at least put them in a position to be competitive for the National League Central title.