Chris Taylor’s Time With The Los Angeles Dodgers Is Officially Over
Chris Taylor, the longest tenured Los Angeles Dodger (an appellation he held for four whole days after the Dodgers released longtime back-up catcher Austin Barnes), has been designated for assignment. Within seven days of such designation, Taylor will either be claimed by another club, traded, or unconditionally released. In actuality, Taylor could elect a minor league assignment in lieu of being released, but that seems highly unlikely.
Change Was Necessary
The end was nearly two years in the making, and yet still very hard for the player and the organization once it actually happened. It was sad week in Los Angeles, as teammates first said goodbye to clubhouse stalwart, and Clayton Kershaw-designated catcher, Barnes. But the team has made no bones about their ultimate goal of repeating as champions, and they don’t seem to be leaving anything to chance.
Through 49 games, the Dodgers’ road to another title has been anything but smooth. The club find themselves in a dogfight in what is arguably the best division in the sport, just one game up on the surprising San Francisco Giants and one-and-half games up on the living-up-to-expectations San Diego Padres. After a win over Arizona last night, Los Angeles opened up a four game lead on the Diamondbacks. Yet, despite all the pre-season prognostications, winning the division is no longer a fait accompli.
In releasing Barnes, the Dodgers made room on their roster and in the lineup for their number one prospect, Dalton Rushing. Through 31 games this season in Triple-A Oklahoma City, he slashed .308/.424/.514, with five home runs and 21 walks. By contrast, Barnes was slashing .214/.233/.286, all of which are below his modest career levels. Offense is not Barnes’ strong suit. The Dodgers, even in May, are acting like a team that cannot afford a soft spot in their lineup even twice a week (when starting catcher Will Smith catches a breath).
Despite his positional flexibility, Taylor’s offensive struggles have been simply too much to overcome. When the Dodgers released the veteran, he was slashing .200/.200/.257, with just two RBI in 28 games. If you read that stat line closely, you will notice that Taylor has no walks in 35 plate appearances (but he does have 13 strikeouts).
The high point of Taylor’s career was the 2021 season, when he played seven positions over 148 games, made his only All-Star team, and finished the season with a .782 OPS.
Since then, over 350 games, he has slashed .222/.307/.369, with three times as many strikeouts as walks. Over those three-plus seasons, he has an OPS+ of 88 (average is 100), and been worth a total of 1.6 bWAR.
The Seattle Mariners drafted Taylor out of the University of Virginia in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. In 2016, the Dodgers sent pitcher Zach Lee to the Pacific Northwest in return for the slender middle infielder. The next off-season Taylor reworked his swing, won co-MVP of the National League Championship Series, and then led off the 2017 World Series by hitting a home run off Dallas Keuchel. His sliding catch in left field during the 2018 NLCS against Milwaukee helped the Dodgers win yet another National League pennant.
