Chicago Cubs lose Jacob Turner to the Chicago White Sox

As the Chicago Cubs’ offseason heads into full swing, the front office is going to have a lot of decisions regarding the 40-man roster and things are going to move rather quickly once the World Series ends next week.

The first such transaction happened Tuesday evening, when the White Sox claimed right-handed pitcher Jacob Turner off waivers from the Cubs.

By this point, many of you know the story of Turner. He was a Top-30 prospect in the Marlins organization from 2010 to 2012 when they acquired him from Detroit in the 2009 Omar Infante–Anibal Sanchez trade.

He avoided injuries for the most part with the Marlins for three seasons but never really gained traction as a top prospect. The Cubs claimed him off waivers in 2014 from Miami and worked out a mini-trade.

That season, Turner appeared in eight games for the Cubs, making six starts and going 2-4 with a 6.49 ERA. Heading into 2015, Turner was supposed to compete for a rotation spot or a long reliever spot in the bullpen.

However, his season was ultimately derailed by right shoulder inflammation and a strained right flexor tendon. Turner was placed on the 60-day DL early in the year and never pitched for the Chicago Cubs again.

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Turner was not on the Chicago 40-man, which is currently full. That will change when Dan Haren falls off due to his retirement. The former Marlins’ top prospect was out of options and would have had to stay on the roster for the entire offseason and be placed on the 25-man out of camp next year.

The claim ultimately saves the Cubs around $1 million, as he was arbitration eligible. This is the second Chicago Cubs player to head to the South Side in recent months, as Turner joins former infielder Mike Olt with the White Sox.

The Cubs aren’t losing much, as he clearly wasn’t a top-30 pitcher anymore and continues to be plagued by injuries. However, at just 24, he still has time to recover and salvage his career – but it won’t be with the the North Siders.