Cubs free agent target: Trea Turner

It seems as if the Cubs will be going after one of the big-name free agent shortstops, not that they don’t already have a good one, but as I noted yesterday, Nico Hoerner could slide over to second base and the Cubs would have a much improved middle infield.

Trea Turner, who played six-plus years for the Nationals before being traded to the Dodgers in the summer of 2021, is a free agent this offseason.

He had a solid year in 2022 for L.A., batting .298/.343/.466 (194-for-652), leading the league with 708 plate appearances. He had 39 doubles and 21 home runs, and unlike Carlos Correa, who has little baserunning speed, Turner stole 27 bases in 30 attempts in 2022.

That could be important for the Cubs. The last Cub to steal at least 27 bases was Tony Campana, who had 30 in 2011 — and that was kind of a freak show, because Campana had literally only that tool, speed. The last Cub to steal 27 or more bases in a season who had any other tools at all was Ryan Theriot, who had 28 in 2007.

It’s just one more dimension the Cubs could add to their offensive arsenal with Turner, who has power (.487 career SLG) and speed.

Turner is also an excellent defender, with positive defensive WAR in all but one of his big-league seasons.

Turner should also be less expensive than Carlos Correa, who will likely command a contract with an AAV north of $30 million. Turner made $21 million in 2022 with the Dodgers. And, Turner is also only about a year older than Correa (born June 1993; Correa was born in September 1994).

So I think the Cubs could offer Turner a five-year, $140 million deal with a $40 million sixth-year vesting option and $10 million buyout. That would make it 6/180 if he’s still good enough in that sixth year, and basically 5/150 if he’s not. This would also leave room to sign a top of the rotation starting pitcher.

Who says no?