Acquiring Justin Dean during the offseason wasn’t a major risk for the Chicago Cubs, but it also wasn’t entirely clear what they were getting.
Dean, 29, previously spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He was on deck for their second consecutive trip to the World Series.
He’s never been a primary headliner at the plate, but he’s garnering more attention after his latest game.
Cubs’ Justin Dean Nabs 1st MLB Hit
GettyJustin Dean of the Chicago Cubs nabbed his first MLB hit
On Friday, Chicago faced the Toronto Blue Jays and rallied for a shocking 16-2 victory at Wrigley Field.
In the bottom of the seventh, Dean tripled on a line drive to right field — his first MLB hit.
Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson scored.
“Baseball’s a hard game,” said Dean, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. “I was in the minor leagues for a while or two. Not knowing when your opportunity is going to come — if it’s going to come — you’re just trying to stay ready, and try to be realistic at the same time, you know? And then sticking with it and getting the turnaround that’s happened, it’s great.”
He added, “Once I saw it land, I’m like, ‘Oh, there it is. That’s the first hit.’ And then I just focused on running, focused on getting to third. Once I kind of settled in, I almost cried. We kept it inside, though. I was just super happy. I’ve been waiting a long time for that. I’m super happy it came at this stadium with this team, with these guys.”
Friday marked Dean’s first Major League appearance of the season.
Dean’s Baseball Career
GettyJustin Dean of the Chicago Cubs nabbed his first MLB hit
In 2018, the Atlanta Braves selected Dean as the overall pick No. 502 in the 17th round of the MLB draft.
However, he made his debut on Aug. 8, 2025, with the Dodgers.
A few short months later, Los Angeles found itself facing the Blue Jays at the highly touted World Series.
That season, he appeared in 18 games.
Until now, his 2026 campaign has been spent playing in Triple-A.
At the time of this writing, he’s slashing .238/.369/.354 with a .723 OPS and three home runs through 56 games.
He also spent time in the minors last year and slashed .289/.378/.431 with a .809 OPS and six homers through 90 games.
Following his Chicago debut, manager Craig Counsell shared his thoughts on his big game, as reported by Bastian.
“When you’ve gone through what Justin’s gone through in the game and played the game as long as he has, and you don’t have that Major League hit yet, I think that’s probably what everybody felt.”
Cubs Right Now
Chicago Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell watched Justin Dean get his first MLB hit
With Chicago’s latest victory added to its resume, the ballclub is now gearing up for its second game of the series.
On Saturday, June 20, the Cubs will face the Blue Jays once again.
The clash will commence at 2:20 p.m. ET.
Once the three-game series concludes on Sunday, Chicago will hit the road.
There, they will be hosted by the New York Mets.
The Cubs are currently 40-36 overall this season.
They are placed third in the National League Central, behind the St. Louis Cardinals (40-34) and the Milwaukee Brewers (45-28).
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