Tag Archives: turner

Cubs Let $10 Million 2-Time All-Star Walk in Free Agency

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The 17-year career of two-time All-Star Justin Turner, widely praised for his clubhouse leadership, may have reached its end Thursday when the Chicago Cubs declined his mutual option.

Turner, a .283 lifetime hitter with a batting average that ranks him 19th among active players, now enters the free-agent market. The 40-year-old, who turns 41 in less than three weeks, could also choose to retire, though according to a report by MLB Trade Rumors, the highly respected veteran has given no public indication of his plans.

As of Thursday morning, Turner had officially elected free agency, according to an announcement by the MLB Players Association. The MLBPA did not specify whether the club or Turner himself had declined the mutual option, which would have paid the 2006 Cincinnati Reds seventh-round draft pick $10 million for the 2025 season.

Turner appeared in only 80 games for the Cubs this year and played just 14 games at his natural position of third base, where he has played 990 of his 1,758 career games. Nonetheless, he was credited with playing “a key role in helping the Cubs gel as a team and find an identity en route to the club’s first playoff berth in five years,” according to MLB.com Cubs reporter Jordan Bastian.

“The true teachers and the true teammates, they do that part without making themselves the center of attention,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told Bastian during the Cubs’ postseason run. “Justin has a really great way of doing that. And that comes across as so authentic to his teammates, and that’s why it’s so impactful.”

The Cubs finished the season with 92 wins but ended up five games behind their regional rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, in the National League Central. Chicago was eliminated from the playoffs by the Brewers in a full five-game Division Series matchup.

Playing for his fifth team in four seasons, Turner spent the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was considered “the Dodgers’ main clubhouse leader during his tenure with the team,” according to writer Mark Timmons of the LA Dodger Talk site.

In nine seasons with the Dodgers, Turner compiled an impressive OPS of .865, ranking him 13th in franchise history—just above Hall of Fame Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella, who posted an .860 OPS.

If Turner chooses to continue his career, he will need to find a team in need of a right-handed platoon bat. While he has historically hit left-handed and right-handed pitching about equally well, his splits became extreme in 2025. Turner posted a solid, if unspectacular, .759 OPS against lefties but struggled significantly against right-handed pitching, posting a mere .387 OPS.

As Turner weighs his next move, his leadership and experience remain valuable assets for any team looking to strengthen both its lineup and clubhouse culture.
https://www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/justin-turner-free-agent-cubs-11004517

Teen gang banger, drill rapper, 17, already a ‘career criminal’ with 20 busts: ‘Raise the Age allows this to happen’

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A 17-year-old gang member from the Bronx, who has been arrested 20 times, has become the poster child for critics of the Raise the Age law, police sources say.

The teenager, drill rapper Julian Turner, first came to police attention at age 14 when he was arrested for shooting a man. His latest arrest occurred on October 10, when he was caught allegedly carrying a gun on a subway platform at Penn Station, according to court records and law enforcement officials.

“You have a 17-year-old kid who tried to kill people with a gun and is still walking around with guns,” said a Manhattan police officer. “What do you think he’s going to do with a gun? He’s going to kill somebody.”

All of Turner’s arrests have taken place since the left-leaning April 2017 legislation raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18. The law was designed to keep children out of the criminal justice system and reduce youth incarceration. But in Turner’s case, it appears to have had little effect on rehabilitation.

Turner, an alleged member of the Young Gunnaz gang and known in the drill rap scene as Baby B-Dot, remains defiant. “I’m not a baby,” officials quoted him as saying.

Retired NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Youth Services Kevin O’Connor criticized the law’s limitations, stating, “Raise the Age does not allow the judges to use prior history when determining what to do with these kids. Here he is at 17—a career criminal. Raise the Age allows this to happen. How many people have to get shot or killed before they change the law?”

At the time of his latest arrest, Turner, who is currently on parole for juvenile offenses until August 2026, was on a subway train on the A/C/E line at Penn Station just before noon. An MTA worker noticed Turner and another teenager flashing gang signs. The subway engineer also observed Turner fidgeting with something in his waistband and alerted police who were on the platform, sources said.

When officers attempted to question and search Turner, he allegedly resisted and wrestled with them on the platform—an incident captured on police body camera footage. Officers eventually found a loaded handgun with a defaced serial number. Turner was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest and has been held on $75,000 cash bail or $175,000 bond, prosecutors said.

Turner’s criminal history is extensive. On September 2, he allegedly robbed a 32-year-old man at gunpoint in Morris Heights and was charged with robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.

Turner’s life of crime reportedly began at age 10. On December 19, 2018, he allegedly pulled a fake gun on two boys aged 11 and 13, threatening them and punching the younger child. Arrested with a knife, Turner faced charges of menacing, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. Because he was a minor, outcomes of these early cases remain confidential.

The following year, Turner allegedly slashed a 14-year-old’s ear with a box cutter in Kingsbridge. Police also report that on August 31, 2019, the then 11-year-old Turner stabbed a 71-year-old woman’s hand after grabbing an item from a vendor’s table. Once again, records for these incidents are sealed due to his age.

At age 14, Turner’s violent activities escalated. On September 19, 2022, he allegedly fired shots at a Dunkin’ Donuts from the back of a scooter in Kingsbridge, striking the restaurant’s window but causing no injuries. Just days later, he reportedly shot a 20-year-old man in the leg outside a Kingsbridge Heights restaurant.

Then Chief of Detectives James Essig described Turner’s record at that time as staggering: “Eighteen arrests. He’s 14-years-old.” Turner was charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon and sent to a juvenile detention facility, although the length of his stay remains undisclosed.

O’Connor slammed the current system, adding, “There’s no accountability with Raise the Age. How many times is it going to take? How many people have to get shot or killed before they change the law?”

Turner’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/18/us-news/raise-the-age-allowed-this-teen-gang-banger-with-lengthy-rap-sheet-busted-again/