The Los Angeles Dodgers have designated veteran utility participant Chris Taylor for task, a supply advised ESPN on Sunday, slicing ties with a longtime fixture who had been relegated to the top of the bench in latest weeks.
Taylor, a Dodger since 2016, will basically be taken off the roster to make room for one more utility participant, Tommy Edman, who will probably be activated off the injured checklist forward of Sunday’s collection finale towards the Los Angeles Angels.
Taylor’s departure comes 4 days after the Dodgers lower ties with longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes in an effort to make room for high prospect Dalton Dashing. Exterior of Clayton Kershaw, Taylor and Barnes represented the Dodgers’ two longest-tenured members.
The Dodgers now have seven days to both commerce or launch Taylor. The choice seemingly indicators that Hyeseong Kim, the rookie second baseman from South Korea, will keep within the main leagues, even after Teoscar Hernandez is activated off the injured checklist within the coming days. Kim, a speedy left-handed hitter, is 14-for-31 since being referred to as up from Triple-A.
Taylor has appeared in simply 35 video games this season and amassed solely 28 plate appearances, throughout which he collected seven hits and 13 strikeouts with out drawing a stroll. Taylor’s solely discernible path to enjoying time got here as a late-game defensive alternative in left area. His alternatives for main league at-bats turned so rare that the Dodgers often had minor league pitchers make the drive from close by Ranch Cucamonga to pitch to Taylor so he might see velocity.
Not way back, although, Taylor was a core member of extremely profitable Dodger groups, a transparent embodiment of the entrance workplace’s infatuation with versatility. After struggling to interrupt via with the Seattle Mariners, Taylor was dealt to the Dodgers in June of 2016, modified his swing and altered the trail of his profession. From 2017 to 2023, Taylor slashed .256/.336/.444, put up 17.7 FanGraphs wins above alternative and noticed frequent enjoying time at six completely different positions — left area, middle area, proper area, third base, second base and shortstop.
His greatest moments got here in October. Taylor was co-MVP within the 2017 Nationwide League Championship Sequence, together with Justin Turner. In Sport 7 of the 2018 NLCS, Taylor made a miraculous catch within the left-center-field hole to protect a one-run lead and ultimately propel the Dodgers to victory. Throughout the 2021 playoffs, Taylor hit the walk-off dwelling run within the wild-card sport towards the St. Louis Cardinals, then hit three dwelling runs towards the Atlanta Braves in Sport 5 of the Nationwide League Championship Sequence.
However Taylor slumped badly through the 2024 season, batting .202/.298/.300 in 87 video games. And because the 2025 season performed out, it turned clear that Taylor did not essentially have a task on this period’s most star-laden Dodgers roster.
