CHICAGO — The last of the Cubs’ option decisions has been made.
And that means another member of their 2025 team is hitting free agency.
Justin Turner and the Cubs had a $10 million mutual option for 2026 that was rejected, the MLB Players Association announced on Thursday. The 40-year-old hits the open market.
Turner’s option not being picked up isn’t a shock – mutual options are rarely exercised, and the Cubs wouldn’t want to pay $10 million to a bench bat, anyway.
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The Cubs had four option decisions at the end of the season – and only one of those players, Colin Rea, is guaranteed to return to the team in 2026, albeit on a restructured deal.
They declined Shota Imanaga’s unique, three-year option that triggered a one-year player option, which the left-hander declined. The team traded away right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge on Tuesday, back to the Baltimore Orioles, thus avoided having to decide on his one-year, $9 million option.
Turner was brought in during spring training this year to serve as a right-handed hitting bench option who could provide a platoon option to Michael Busch at first and provide an extra designated hitter if needed.
It was the first time in over a decade that Turner had been relegated to part-time duties. He logged just 191 plate appearances across 80 games in 2025, the fewest in a full season in his career since he notched 185 plate appearances in 94 games with the Mets in 2012, his second season in the majors.
Turner struggled in the limited opportunities, posting a .602 OPS and a .219 average with three home runs and 18 RBIs.
He did have some success against left-handers, though. He hit .276 against lefties with a .759 OPS in 109 plate appearances. He started Game 2 of the NL Division Series and hit leadoff as the Milwaukee Brewers deployed left-hander Aaron Ashby as an opener. Turner was 1-for-2 in his lone playoff at-bats with the Cubs.
He did, though, provide veteran leadership and was an influential figure on some of the Cubs’ young players, especially Pete Crow-Armstrong.
[MORE: Pete Crow-Armstrong leaning on Cubs leaders as he navigates MLB season]
“I’d be foolish not to listen to his life and career experiences, and he’s been very generous with all that. He presented himself to me from the first day that we were teammates,” Crow-Armstrong said in September. “JT, he’s just given himself to this team in a way that you kind of can’t put a price on or value in a stat line.
“So yeah, JT has done a whole lot of good for this clubhouse as a whole.”