Ex-Toronto Blue Jays Player Still a Free Agent After Release from Last MLB Team
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Ex-Toronto Blue Jays Player Still a Free Agent After Release from Last MLB Team
TORONTO, CANADA - JULY 27: Justin Turner #2 of the Toronto Blue Jays welcomes Daulton Varsho #25 to the plate with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 after Varsho hit a three-run home run in the first inning during their MLB game against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre on July 27, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) Getty
TJ French·HEAVY
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TORONTO, CANADA - JULY 26: Justin Turner #2 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a single in the ninth inning of their MLB game against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre on July 26, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) Getty
Now that the Toronto Blue Jays are watching the rest of the MLB playoffs from home, their offseason is officially here, and after a disappointing 2026 season, the Jays are likely going to make wholesale changes during the Winter months of the offseason.
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While pitching remains the biggest need of the Jays, one player who stands out as a potential free agent target is Justin Turner, who played with the Blue Jays in 2024 and is still an MLB free agent after departing the Cubs organization.
Turner, 41, did not play in MLB in 2026, but has been on record saying he would like to return in a veteran/leadership role if a team would welcome his services.
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Justin Turner with the Blue Jays
GettyTORONTO, CANADA – JULY 26: Justin Turner #2 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a single in the ninth inning of their MLB game against theTexas Rangersat Rogers Centre on July 26, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
Even in his age-39 season, Justin Turner proved that he still has some productivity left in the tank while he was with the Blue Jays.
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In 2024, across 91 games with the Jays, Turner batted .256 with 31 RBI, and an OPS+ of 106.
He also added 17 doubles and 37 runs scored that season in a Blue Jays uniform.
Turner ended up finishing the 2024 campaign (split between the Jays andMariners) with an OPS+ of 113, which is 13% above league average.
Justin Turner is a 2X MLB All-Star (with theDodgers) with 17 years of MLB experience.
If Toronto decided to bring him back on a reunion deal, it could be a league-minimum deal, and Turner would serve purely as a platoon batter.
MLBTR.com's Nick Deedsoutlined Turner being a free agent by writing (in November, 2025):
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"As Turner nears his 41st birthday, he hasn't indicated one way or another what his plans are for the future. If he looks to continue his playing career, it's not hard to imagine a team valuing his experience and leadership in the clubhouse enough to give him an invitation to Spring Training and allow him to compete for a bench role despite his rough 2025 campaign. With that being said, a big league guarantee on the level he received last offseason is hard to imagine, and he'd mostly only fit on a roster that struggles badly at the plate against southpaws."
