Chris Taylor

Dodgers Weighing Depth Possibilities In Response To Gavin Lux Injury

By Anthony Franco | March 3, 2023 at 8:34pm CDT

The Dodgers were dealt a significant blow to their position player group this week. Shortstop Gavin Lux tore his ACL in exhibition play and will miss the entire season. That pushes veteran Miguel Rojas from his expected utility capacity into a regular shortstop role and thins out the overall depth behind Miguel Vargas and Max Muncy at second and third base, respectively.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman chatted with reporters this afternoon and left open the possibility the club could go outside the organization to bolster their position player group (link via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). The L.A. baseball ops leader didn’t hint at any urgency to make a move but implied they could look into ways to fortify the offensive group.

“Depth is always something that we talk about,” Friedman told reporters. “It was a big driver for us to go out and get Miguel Rojas and we feel like between him and (Chris Taylor) that we’re in a good spot. … So for us, if we are going to add from the outside it’s going to be something that fits us differently or is a more impactful player in our mind.”

Friedman noted the club wasn’t limiting themselves solely to exploring the market for shortstop-capable players. That’s tied to Taylor’s versatility, in particular, as he’s capable of lining up essentially anywhere on the diamond. Acquiring a corner outfielder, for instance, could indirectly add to the infield depth by freeing Taylor up for more work on the dirt.

Plunkett writes that any addition, if one comes to fruition, is likelier to come via trade than free agency. Jurickson Profar is the top unsigned position player, while José Iglesias leads the market of remaining free agent shortstops. Identifying viable trade targets is quite difficult at this stage of the offseason. The trade market has been quiet all winter and particularly frigid in recent weeks. The majority of teams have more or less set the core of their season-opening rosters, and there are only a handful of clubs going into the year without any real designs on being competitive.

“It’s difficult. It’s not the most natural time to make a trade,” Friedman acknowledged. “So we’ll spend more time figuring out what’s possible. We’re not sure at this point and we’re trying to wrap our arms around the various profiles of a player and how it would fit. … It just depends on what’s available. Just because of spring training and the nature of it and typically, it’s a slower trade market and more centered around guys without (minor league) options. Now, there could be players like that who fit as well, or it could be someone internal.”

Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo, Kansas City’s Nicky Lopez, the Cubs’ Nick Madrigal and the Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa are among the players whose names have been floated as candidates to change uniforms this offseason — either in publicly reported trade discussions or loose speculation based on those clubs’ infield situations. Buster Olney of ESPN reported this morning the Dodgers had checked in with the Yankees regarding Kiner-Falefa early in the offseason. That was before L.A. acquired Rojas, an acquisition that would’ve almost assuredly ruled Kiner-Falefa out of the plans until Lux’s injury.

There’s no indication the Dodgers and Yankees have revisited those discussions in the past few days or have any plans to do so. It stands to reason the Yankees would welcome talks if the Dodgers were to circle back to him as a possible target. Kiner-Falefa is playing this season on a $6MM arbitration salary; he’s on hand as a possible utility option but could lose the starting shortstop job in the Bronx to top prospect Oswald Peraza. New York is reportedly reluctant to exceed the $293MM final luxury tax barrier — which they’d do with any kind of notable acquisition — and Kiner-Falefa is perhaps the most straightforward candidate on the roster for a trade that could free up some spending capacity.

The Dodgers themselves were flirting with the possibility of dipping below a luxury tax tier, in their case the $233MM base threshold. The Rojas acquisition put that to bed, however, and Friedman has subsequently affirmed they have no plans to shed money and get under the CBT marker at this point. That doesn’t provide much insight into how much room they have for further additions, however. Roster Resource currently projects their luxury tax number around $245MM, which puts them approximately $8MM shy of the second penalization tier.

If they don’t go outside the organization, the Dodgers would run with a regular infield of Freddie Freeman, Vargas, Rojas and Muncy across the diamond. Taylor could step in at times but would presumably spend more time in left and center field, while right fielder Mookie Betts could see some action at second base.

NL Notes: Mancini, Doolittle, Martinez, Taylor

By Darragh McDonald | March 1, 2023 at 2:15pm CDT

Cubs right-fielder Seiya Suzuki is currently sidelined with a “moderate” oblique strain. The club has yet to provide an estimated timeline for his absence, but Suzuki has already withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic. It’s unclear if he will still be injured when Opening Day rolls around, but Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports that the club is looking to use Trey Mancini as the right fielder for any time Suzuki needs to miss.

Mancini was primarily a first baseman coming up through the minors but starting playing the outfield corners with the Orioles due to Chris Davis having the cold corner spoken for. That’s allowed Mancini to log 2,480 1/3 innings of outfield experience, but most of that came in the 2017-2019 period. Mancini missed the 2020 season while in treatment for colon cancer but has primarily been at first base since his return. That was the only position he played in 2021 and he only spent 248 innings on the grass last year.

Mancini’s outfield defense hasn’t been especially well graded in his career, but it’s possible it would only be a part-time solution anyhow, with Suzuki eventually coming back to retake the position. In the meantime, the alignment could allow the club to have both Mancini and Eric Hosmer in the lineup, with the designated hitter slot available for one of the club’s many younger infielders. Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner should be in the middle with Hosmer at first, but the third base and utility/backup infield positions figure to be shared by Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal, Christopher Morel, Zach McKinstry, Miles Mastrobuoni and Edwin Ríos.

Some other notes from around the National League…

Lefty Sean Doolittle is in camp with the Nationals on a minor league deal, looking to return to health after he dealt with an elbow sprain last year that eventually led to an internal brace procedure. It was reported a few weeks ago that he seemed on track to be ready for Opening Day, but that might no longer be the case. Doolittle tells Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com that there was no real setback, just that the club’s medical team advised him to take a better-safe-than-sorry approach. “Nothing specifically happened,” Doolittle said. “I think when we started to look at what it was going to take to ramp up, and where I was at, I was ahead of schedule probably by almost a month. I did have some days when I was a little more sore than I had been throwing in the offseason. Nothing bad, but we started thinking about it. We’re so far ahead, let’s slow it down a little bit.” It seems that he may no longer be an option for Opening Day, but the slowed-down approach is fine by him. “Let’s be smart about it. It’s not a race,” he added. Manager Dave Martinez is onboard with the plan as well. “When he’s ready, we want him to be 100 percent ready,” Martinez said. “We need left-handed pitchers in our bullpen. When he’s healthy, he’ll be that guy.” Doolittle had a 3.02 career ERA through the end of 2019 but has missed significant time in two of the past three years, in addition to posting a 4.53 ERA in 2021. The Nats’ only southpaw relievers on the 40-man are Matt Cronin and Jose Ferrer, neither of whom have MLB experience yet. Once Doolittle is fully healthy, he should have a path open to get back on the roster.
It was reported in mid-December that the Red Sox were interested in a reunion with slugger J.D. Martinez, but he agreed to a deal with the Dodgers that very same day while the Sox agreed with Justin Turner the day after. However, it doesn’t seem as though Boston’s interest was ever that strong, at least according to Martinez, who spoke with Rob Bradford of WEEI about the situation. “The way they made it sound was that they were in on it,” Martinez said. “During the season we never talked. Just basic talk with Chaim, and stuff. It was one of those things where we never moved forward with it.” The alignment of his deal and Turner’s doesn’t seem to have been coincidental. “A situation occurred where at the time they had the offer out to JT… Everybody talks… This was an offer that came up seeing if it was something I was interested in doing. Obviously, it was a little bit of a pay cut, but if I held up maybe I could have gotten more. We were confident about that. But at the same time I wanted a team that was going to be in October, be in the swing of things all year and give me a chance to win.” MLBTR predicted Martinez to secure a two-year, $30MM, so it’s possible he’s correct that he could have gotten more than the one-year, $10MM deal he ultimately agreed to. However, it seems he placed a priority on competition by moving from a Boston club that won 78 games last year to the 111-win Dodgers.
Sticking with the Dodgers, they will have to consider backup plans at shortstop now that Gavin Lux is out for the year. Miguel Rojas will now be the atop the depth chart there, with super utility player Chris Taylor behind him. Manager Dave Roberts tells Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times that Taylor will play shortstop about 20-25% of the time. Taylor says he’s ready for the move, having started an infield throwing program prior to the Lux injury. “I’ve been throwing from the infield and the outfield,” Taylor said. “I was trying to anticipate something happening. So I was prepared.” Getting part-time work at shortstop will be nothing new for Taylor. He only got one inning there last year but averaged more than 250 innings per year over the previous four seasons. He’ll be looking to bounce back from a down year at the plate, as he missed a month with a foot fracture and hit .221/.304/.373 for a wRC+ of 93. Moving Taylor in from the grass on occasion will subtract from an outfield mix that’s a bit more uncertain for the club than in recent years. Mookie Betts should be excellent in right, with Trayce Thompson, David Peralta and Jason Heyward potentially taking the other spots, as younger players like James Outman and Andy Pages try to break in.

The Dodgers’ Outfield Gambles

By Anthony Franco | February 1, 2023 at 10:24pm CDT

It’s been a fairly quiet offseason by Dodgers’ standards, as they have shied away from the top-of-the-market commitments they’ve embraced in prior years. Los Angeles re-signed Clayton Kershaw, brought in J.D. Martinez, Noah Syndergaard and Shelby Miller on one-year free agent pacts, and acquired Miguel Rojas from the Marlins to bolster their middle infield depth. They watched Trea Turner, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney and Cody Bellinger depart.

While it’s still one of the sport’s strongest rosters top to bottom, the Dodgers have a few more question marks than they’ve had in recent years. That’s especially true in the outfield. Mookie Betts is a superstar; the two other positions are more up in the air. Bellinger was cut loose after two straight dismal offensive seasons, leaving a center field vacancy the organization hasn’t subsequently addressed.

Their relatively restrained winter was seemingly tied to a desire to dip under the $233MM luxury tax threshold. That would have reset their payor status and avoid the associated escalating penalties if/when they went back above that mark next offseason. The reduction of Trevor Bauer’s suspension put more than $22MM back onto the books and pushed them narrowly back above the threshold, which they doubled down on with the Rojas trade. Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic suggested as part of a reader mailbag last week the team no longer seems likely to try to limbo underneath the tax line.

That theoretically opens the potential for further spending, since the Dodgers’ projected $238MM CBT figure is quite a bit lower than those of their previous two seasons. There hasn’t been much indication Los Angeles plans to make any meaningful additions between now and Opening Day though. The Dodgers monitored the center field market earlier in the winter but have come up empty. That’s now virtually barren, aside from a potential trade for Minnesota’s Max Kepler (who’s more familiar with right field) or a long shot deal involving Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds. The corner outfield market still has Jurickson Profar and depth types like Ben Gamel and David Peralta available in free agency and perhaps trade possibilities like Anthony Santander or Seth Brown. The Dodgers haven’t been publicly linked to anyone in that group.

If this is the outfield, the team will go into the season with more notable questions than they’ve had in the past couple years. Betts is still one of the top five players in the sport. His projected outfield mates all have talent but come with easy to spot downside. Let’s run through the group who could join Betts on the Dodger Stadium grass.

Chris Taylor

Taylor’s equally capable of playing the infield but seems ticketed for outfield work, particularly in the wake of the Rojas pickup. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM over the weekend that was the plan. Freddie Freeman, rookie Miguel Vargas, Gavin Lux, Max Muncy and Rojas figure to cover the infield if everyone’s healthy, with J.D. Martinez manning designated hitter.

A year ago, Taylor playing everyday in left or center field would’ve been a perfectly comfortable solution. While it might play out that way, it’s no longer as safe a bet after he struggled in the first season of a new four-year deal. For the first time in his six seasons in Southern California, Taylor posted a below-average slash line. He hit .221/.304/.373 with 10 home runs across 454 plate appearances, missing around a month midseason with a foot fracture.

Taylor still drew a decent number of walks with a slightly above-average hard contact percentage, but his contact rate cratered. He struck out in over 35% of his plate appearances, the highest rate of any player with 450+ trips. It was a similar story on a per-pitch basis. Taylor made contact on only 62.1% of his swings, again the worst mark among hitters who logged as much playing time as he did.

One poor season doesn’t entirely negate the .265/.343/.461 line he managed between 2017-21. He’s certainly talented enough to play better than he did in 2022. Yet given last year’s struggles, the Dodgers may need a contingency plan in the event he again battles significant swing-and-miss concerns. That’s particularly true given the Dodgers’ questionable center field composition.

Trayce Thompson

Thompson is probably going to get the first crack at that job with the team not making any additions. In one regard, the 31-year-old is in the opposite boat as Taylor. He had an incredible 2022 season that belied his lack of an established MLB track record before last year. That said, the main concern with Thompson is the same as it for L.A.’s presumptive left fielder: strikeouts.

Acquired from the Tigers in a seemingly minor June trade, Thompson got into 80 games for L.A. down the stretch. He was given 255 plate appearances, his most in a big league campaign since 2016, and was one of the team’s most effective hitters. He put up a .256/.353/.507 line with 13 home runs. Thompson made hard contact on a massive 47% of his batted balls while walking at an excellent 12.7% clip. That kind of power and plate discipline are intriguing, though his 36.5% strikeout percentage was even higher than Taylor’s.

It wouldn’t matter that Thompson’s striking out at that rate if he’s reaching base and driving the ball the way he did last season. Whether he can maintain that kind of form over a full schedule is unclear. Thompson has never played more than 80 MLB games in a year and carried a career .208/.283/.405 line into last season. He’s shown the physical tools to impact a lineup at his best and enough swing-and-miss to result in an unplayable on-base percentage at his worst.

James Outman

The 25-year-old Outman is probably the first man up in the event of an injury or performance struggles from Thompson. He played in four big league games last year but spent most of the season in the upper minors. It was a breakout year for the former 7th-round draftee. Between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, Outman connected on 31 home runs and doubles apiece while posting a cumulative .294/.393/.586 slash in 559 plate appearances. He walked at a 12.5% clip while striking out 27.2% of the time.

Again, it’s an offensive profile driven by power and walks with concerning whiff totals. Outman is a good prospect, checking in 10th on Baseball America’s offseason write-up of a strong Dodgers’ system. The outlet praises Outman’s power and suggests he’s athletic enough to be an above-average center fielder. There’s a chance he’s an everyday player, though BA suggests he might be better suited in a role-playing or platoon capacity given his propensity for whiffs on breaking pitches. Even the latter outcome would be a great return on a 7th-round pick and a testament to Outman’s excellent minor league résumé but it raises concerns about his viability as an everyday player on a team with championship aspirations.

Overall Outlook

There are things to like about each of Taylor, Thompson and Outman. It’s certainly not an outfield devoid of upside. Yet it’s not as stable as the rest of the Dodgers’ roster or the outfields L.A. has run out in previous years. That’s reflective of Bellinger’s unexpected offensive collapse that led to his non-tender and the club’s comparatively modest offseason overall.

Barring a late-winter pickup, the onus may fall on skipper Dave Roberts to patch things together more than he’s needed in the past. A platoon of the lefty-swinging Outman and right-handed Thompson might suffice in center field. Vargas can play some left field on days when he’s not in the infield, and perhaps Martinez will log a little corner outfield work in addition to his DH reps.

Andy Pages is a quality power-hitting prospect who is already on the 40-man roster. He may still be a year away after a fine but unexceptional showing in Double-A. Michael Busch is another highly-regarded offensive player whose defensive questions at second base could push him to left field, but he’s barely played there as a professional. Jonny DeLuca is on the 40-man roster as a potential depth player. Veteran Bradley Zimmer will be in camp as a non-roster invitee and another minor league deal or two seems plausible.

There are plenty of players who could work their way into consideration. Outman, Pages, Busch and Vargas are highly-regarded prospects and highlight the kind of farm depth the Dodgers could leverage in trade midseason if the current group doesn’t pan out. While things are far from dire, the Dodgers look prepared to take more of a gamble in the outfield than they have in years past.

Dodgers Notes: Jarrin, Grove, Jackson, Taylor

By Mark Polishuk | October 2, 2022 at 3:50pm CDT

The Dodgers paid tribute to broadcasting legend Jaime Jarrin prior to yesterday’s game, feting the longtime Spanish-language voice of the team in his final season on the mic. Jarrin began calling Dodgers games on the radio in 1959 (the team’s second season in Los Angeles) and has been a fixture ever since, announcing last year that he would be retiring at the end of the 2022 season.

It will mark the end of an era for L.A. fans, who had the unique benefit of hearing both Jarrin and Vin Scully call games from 1959 until Scully’s retirement in 2016. The 86-year-old Jarrin has also had an incredible career beyond baseball, covering news for KWKW radio and calling other major sporting events like world championship boxing and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Jarrin all the best in retirement, though he still has some very big games left to call during the Dodgers’ upcoming postseason run.

Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On Injured List, Reinstate Chris Taylor

By Anthony Franco | August 6, 2022 at 4:24pm CDT

TODAY: Kershaw’s MRI didn’t reveal any serious damage, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya (Twitter links) and other reporters. As Roberts put it, this is the “best-case scenario” for Kershaw’s injury, though the southpaw also received an epidural injection in his back. A timetable still isn’t known for Kershaw’s return.

AUGUST 5: The Dodgers announced they’ve placed Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day injured list, citing low back pain. Utilityman Chris Taylor is back from his own IL stint to take the vacated active roster spot. Los Angeles also recalled reliever Reyes Moronta from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned outfielder James Outman.

Kershaw lands on the IL for the second time this season. He lost around a month between early May and June with inflammation in his right hip area. The future Hall of Famer returned and went on to make ten more starts before yesterday’s outing. After throwing four innings of two-run ball in an eventual win over the Giants, Kershaw went out to the mound for his warm-up tosses to start the fifth. He pulled himself from the game after experiencing some pain in his lower back, and that issue will apparently keep him out of action for at least the next few weeks.

The team hasn’t provided a timetable on Kershaw’s return, and the announced diagnosis of “low back pain” remains nebulous. They’ll surely be cautious with the 34-year-old, particularly since he’s landed on the injured list at least once in each season since 2016. That included stints for back issues every year between 2016-18. With a 12 1/2 game lead over the Padres in the NL West, the Dodgers can feel comfortable playing things slowly with key players for the final couple months.

While Kershaw no longer takes on the kind of workloads he did during his prime, he’s still among the sport’s best pitchers on a rate basis. Through 85 1/3 innings this season, the three-time Cy Young winner carries a 2.64 ERA with an above-average 26.2% strikeout rate and 48.5% ground-ball percentage. Kershaw’s fastball is sitting in the 90 MPH range, but he owns arguably the game’s best command and hasn’t walked more than 6% of batters faced in a season for a decade.

Kershaw’s trip to the IL leaves Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney as the rotation’s top four for the time being. Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove are depth options at Triple-A, and the club seems likely to welcome hard-throwing righty Dustin May back in the not too distant future. Manager Dave Roberts told MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this afternoon that May is likely to return by the club’s August 19-21 series against the Marlins (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has been out all season recovering from May 2021 Tommy John surgery, but he’s been on a rehab stint since mid-July. Roberts indicated he’s likely to make two more starts in Oklahoma City before returning to the big league club, although he left open the possibility May rejoins the MLB team after just one more Triple-A appearance.

Taylor makes his return to the starting lineup, exactly a month after fracturing his left foot. It’s a quick bounceback for an injury of that magnitude, and Roberts suggested he’ll get the nod at second base tonight. It’ll be Taylor’s first infield appearance of the season, as he’s worked exclusively on the grass this year. Taylor has logged 502 innings in left field, along with 57 and 56 frames in center and right, respectively.

Of course, Taylor made a name for himself with his defensive flexibility in previous seasons. He’s capable of playing virtually everywhere on the diamond other than catcher, and it seems the club is content to get him back onto the infield on occasion. Gavin Lux and Trea Turner make for an excellent middle infield duo, with Max Muncy playing primarily third base as Justin Turner landed on the IL on Tuesday. Taylor will presumably spend the bulk of his time in the outfield still, but the ability to log some action on the dirt will allow Roberts more flexibility in managing infield reps. The 31-year-old will try to get going offensively after his month away, as he carries a .238/.319/.409 line with a huge 35.4% strikeout rate across 285 plate appearances on the year.

NL West Notes: Soto, Padres, Merrill, Wood, Giants, Heaney, Taylor

By Mark Polishuk | July 24, 2022 at 10:47pm CDT

Speculation continues to swirl over which team (if any) could pry Juan Soto away from the Nationals before the trade deadline, or even which clubs are the top contenders as we approach August 2. According to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Nats may be “focusing on one or two teams at the moment,” with the Cardinals seen by some rivals as a likely contender to be one of those clubs due to St. Louis’ amount of MLB-ready talent. As far as the NL West goes, however, a rival executive tells The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that “I think San Diego is as likely as the other 28 teams combined. They have the players and they have [A.J.] Preller.”

Certainly, the Padres’ president of baseball operations is always open to bold moves, and that confidence extends to the team’s prospects in the sense that the Padres “are confident they can keep replenishing their farm system.” While San Diego has already dealt quality blue-chippers in other deals over the years, more intriguing new names keep emerging. For instance, Rosenthal writes that teams have shown interest in shortstop Jackson Merrill and outfielder James Wood, the Padres’ two top picks from the 2021 draft. Merrill and Wood were both high school selections who are still a few years away from the bigs, so in regards to Soto, the Padres could hang onto the young duo as future building blocks while dealing other prospects who better fit the Nationals’ demands.

Chris Taylor Diagnosed With Foot Fracture

By Anthony Franco | July 6, 2022 at 2:31pm CDT

JULY 6: Taylor has landed on the injured list as expected, with utilityman Zach McKinstry reinstated from the IL take his active roster spot. Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged it’s “a safe bet” that Taylor wouldn’t be back before the All-Star Break, but the club hasn’t provided a more specific timetable (via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).

JULY 5: Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor was diagnosed with a fracture in his left foot, he told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). He’ll likely be placed on the injured list tomorrow; a timetable for his return isn’t yet clear.

Taylor departed last night’s contest against the Rockies in the sixth inning. The club called the issue ankle swelling at the time, but he went for a CT scan this afternoon. The testing revealed the presence of a fracture, an injury which seems likely to cost him a fair bit of time. Los Angeles will surely provide more details on Taylor’s specific diagnosis and recovery outlook over the next few days.

Re-signed to a four-year contract over the offseason, Taylor has again served a key role for manager Dave Roberts. He’s gotten the start for 56 of the club’s 79 games in left field, in addition to seven nods in center and right field apiece. Long noted for his defensive versatility, Taylor has played exclusively in the outfield this season but no doubt still retained the ability to step onto the infield dirt if the club needed.

It hasn’t been a vintage offensive showing for Taylor, who owns a .238/.319/.409 line through 285 plate appearances. He’s still walking at a strong rate and has collected 19 doubles, but he’s struck out at a personal-high 35.4% clip. Nevertheless, Taylor’s five-year track record of solidly above-average offense offered reason to believe he’d bounce back from a down month of June.

It’s the second corner outfield injury in recent weeks for L.A. to navigate. Mookie Betts missed time with a small rib fracture, returning over the weekend. While Roberts suggested Betts could break back in as a second baseman to ease his throwing responsibilities, he’s been pencilled into right field in two of three games since his reinstatement. The Dodgers dealt for Trayce Thompson to platoon with Eddy Alvarez once Betts went down; the club has since selected Jake Lamb (who’s starting in left field tonight) and optioned Alvarez out, but they figure to turn to another platoon arrangement to handle left field in the short term.

Depending on Taylor’s recovery outlook, it’s possible the Dodgers could look to the trade market for a more impactful pickup than Thompson. Ian Happ, Anthony Santander and Andrew Benintendi are among the higher-impact, regular outfielders who could be made available over the coming weeks. There’s also the possibility of a prospect promotion to help fill the void. Miguel Vargas, for instance, is hitting very well with Triple-A Oklahoma City and was floated as a potential alternative once Betts was injured. Vargas, a trade baseman by trade, made a pair of minor league starts in left field recently but otherwise has played exclusively on the infield as a pro.

Dodgers To Activate Mookie Betts From 10-Day Injured List Sunday

By Mark Polishuk | July 2, 2022 at 10:30pm CDT

Mookie Betts said earlier today that his return to the Dodgers’ lineup could come as early as tomorrow, and that scenario has now come to pass. Manager Dave Roberts told J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter links) that Betts will be activated from the 10-day injured list prior to tomorrow’s game with the Padres.

Los Angeles placed Betts on the IL on June 19 due to a cracked rib, so returning in only two weeks’ time is a sigh of relief for the player and the team following what could have been a much more serious injury. The Dodgers even acquired Trayce Thompson as a right-handed hitting platoon partner for Eddy Alvarez in the outfield, seemingly indicating that Betts could miss a significant amount of time. Even a week ago, Roberts didn’t have a timetable on Betts’ status and noted that the former AL MVP hadn’t yet begun any baseball activities.

Fortunately, once Betts did return to workouts, his progress went quite smoothly. There was some suggestion that Betts could return as a second baseman rather than as a right fielder in order to make it easier on him to throw, though Betts said today that he preferred playing the field to being a designated hitter.

Betts will in fact return as a right fielder, as Chris Taylor is now day-to-day with a left foot contusion suffered while attempting a catch during tonight’s game. X-rays were negative on Taylor’s foot, though the issue was serious enough for him to be removed from the game in the sixth inning.

The Dodgers have seemingly had a revolving door of players getting injured or healthy all season long, and yet without their first-choice lineup, L.A. is still leading the National League with a 49-28 record. Naturally, Betts has been a big part of that success, hitting .273/.349/.535 with 17 home runs over his first 275 plate appearances. Even with two missed weeks on the IL, Betts’ 3.3 fWAR still ranks him 12th among all hitters in baseball this season.

Which 2022 Draft Picks Have Teams Gained And Lost From Qualifying Offer Free Agents

By Mark Polishuk | December 19, 2021 at 8:34pm CDT

Of the 14 free agents to receive qualifying offers this winter, nine have already figured out where they will be playing next season, leading to some noteworthy adjustments to the 2022 draft order. For a refresher on the QO rules, you can check this list of what signing a qualifying offer-rejecting free agent would cost each team, or this list of what teams receive as compensation for losing a QO-rejecting free agent.

Or, for simplicity’s sake, you could just read this post right here as a quick summary of the extra picks gained and lost due to these signings. First of all, four of the nine signed players don’t factor into the discussion, since they are back with their former teams — Brandon Belt accepted the Giants’ qualifying offer in the first place, while Raisel Iglesias re-signed with the Angels, Chris Taylor re-signed with the Dodgers, and Justin Verlander re-signed with the Astros.

For the five other signed QO free agents and the five unsigned QO free agents, here is the breakdown of what their former teams would receive as compensatory picks. The specific order of the compensatory picks is based on the previous year’s record, so the team with the fewer wins would get the superior pick.

Extra pick after Round 1 of the draft: This is awarded to a team that receives revenue-sharing funds, and whose QO-rejecting free agent signs with another team for more than $50MM in guaranteed salary. The Rockies and Reds would therefore each qualify if Trevor Story (Colorado) or Nick Castellanos (Cincinnati) signed for $50MM+. Since the Reds had the better record between the two teams, the Rockies would pick 32nd overall and the Reds 33rd overall if both clubs indeed ended up in this same category. If Story and/or Castellanos signed for less than $50MM, Colorado and/or Cincinnati would be in the next group…
Extra pick between Competitive Balance Round B and Round 3: Four picks have already been allotted within this group, comprised of teams who don’t receive revenue sharing funds. The Mets received an extra selection when Noah Syndergaard signed with the Angels, the Blue Jays received two picks when Marcus Semien signed with the Rangers and Robbie Ray signed with the Mariners, and the Red Sox got a pick when Eduardo Rodriguez signed with the Tigers. Like Toronto, the Mets could also receive a second pick if Michael Conforto signed elsewhere. The Braves (Freddie Freeman) and Astros (Carlos Correa) would also land in this category if their respective QO free agents left town. The draft order of this sandwich round based on 2021 record would line up as Mets (77 wins), Braves (88 wins), Blue Jays (91 wins), Red Sox (92 wins), and Astros (95 wins). For the moment, the four picks in this group represent the 75th-79th overall selections in the draft, though that specific order will be altered based on where the other QO players sign, or what other second-round picks might be surrendered as penalties for signing those free agents.
Extra pick after Round 4: For teams that lose a QO free agent but exceeded the luxury tax threshold in 2021, their compensatory pick is pushed back to beyond the fourth round. Therefore, this is where the Dodgers will make their extra pick in the wake of Corey Seager’s deal with the Rangers.

Moving on, here is what the four teams who have signed QO free agents had to give up in draft capital…

Second-highest 2022 draft pick, $500K in international signing pool money: The Angels didn’t receive revenue sharing funds, and didn’t exceed the luxury tax in 2021. As a result, signing Syndergaard will cost the Angels their second-round draft selection and a chunk of their funds for the next international signing period.
Third-highest 2022 draft pick: The Mariners and Tigers fall into this category, as teams who received revenue sharing payments in 2021. For Seattle, this is simply their third-round selection. For Detroit, their “third-highest pick” won’t be determined until MLB establishes the order for this year’s Competitive Balance Draft. Depending on which of the two CBD rounds the Tigers are drawn into, their cost for the Rodriguez contract could either be their second-rounder or their pick in Competitive Balance Round B.
Both their second AND third-highest 2022 draft picks, and $500K in international signing pool money: The Rangers splurged by signing both Seager and Semien, and thus faced twice the draft penalty (both their second-round and third-round picks) for landing a pair of QO free agents. Texas would have faced the same penalty as the Angels if it had signed just one of Seager or Semien.
Second- and fifth-highest 2022 draft picks, $1MM in international signing pool money: The stiffest penalty is reserved for teams who exceeded the luxury tax threshold last season. Therefore, only the Dodgers and Padres would have to give up multiple picks to sign a single QO free agent, which would surely influence any efforts on their part to pursue Correa, Freeman, Conforto, Story, or Castellanos.

Dodgers Re-Sign Chris Taylor

By Anthony Franco | December 1, 2021 at 8:59pm CDT

The Dodgers are retaining at least one of their top free agents, announcing agreement on a four-year contract with Chris Taylor. It’s reportedly a $60MM guarantee for the Meister Sports Management client that also contains a 2026 club option which could bring the value of the deal as high as $73MM.

According to reports, Taylor will be paid $15MM salaries in each of the next two seasons, followed by successive $13MM guarantees in 2024-25. He’s also guaranteed at least a $4MM buyout on the 2026 option, which is valued at $12MM. He’d receive a $2MM assignment bonus for every time he’s traded over the course of the deal. Additionally, the value of Taylor’s option season would increase by $3MM if he’s traded within the next two seasons, by $2MM if he’s traded between the end of the 2023 and the end of the 2024 campaigns, or by $1MM if he’s traded between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2026. The option price would also escalate by $1MM if he tallies 525 plate appearances, earns an All-Star nomination or wins a Silver Slugger Award during the 2025 campaign.

Taylor’s guarantee falls a bit shy of MLBTR’s four-year, $64MM projection entering the offseason. He had hit the market as a fairly atypical free agent, having never settled into one spot on a star-studded Dodgers roster while bouncing around the diamond in a utility capacity. Despite his lack of a settled role, Taylor has gotten into the lineup on a near everyday basis, earning the organization’s trust with rare offensive punch for a utilityman.

The Dodgers acquired Taylor from the Mariners in a seemingly minor 2016 deal. That proved to be one of the more shrewd pick-ups of president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s tenure in L.A., though, as Taylor has been a highly productive player essentially from that moment on. The right-handed hitter has posted above-average offensive numbers (by measure of wRC+) in each of the past five seasons.

Taylor gets to that production with a strong blend of plate discipline and power. He rarely chases pitches outside the strike zone, and he’s become especially adept at drawing walks over the past few seasons. He also brings 15-20 home run power to the table despite playing in a pitcher-friendly environment in L.A. That’s helped Taylor offset higher than average strikeout rates to remain a quality offensive player.

Going back to his 2017 breakout, the Virginia native owns a .265/.343/.461 cumulative line. That’s 16 percentage points above the league average output, not far off his numbers in his platform campaign. Taylor hit .254/.344/.438 with 20 homers in 582 plate appearances in 2021, translating to a 113 wRC+ (13 points above average). He started especially hot, posting a .277/.382/.452 mark through the season’s first half en route to his first career All-Star selection.

While Taylor’s multi-year track record always looked likely to pay him handsomely this offseason, he did seem at one point as though he’d hit the market on a down note. The 31-year-old slumped to a .223/.290/.419 line over the regular season’s second half, seeing his strikeout rate spike to 33.1% in the process. But Taylor put any questions about his tough finish to rest with a monster postseason, popping four homers in 43 playoff plate appearances (including a walk-off shot in the National League Wild Card game) to help the Dodgers to the NL Championship Series.

Valuable as Taylor is offensively, he’s perhaps more well-known for his defense. Taylor has functioned as a true utility player over the years, starting games at every position other than first base and catcher. He spends the bulk of his time at the higher-value positions up the middle of the diamond, particularly at second base and in center field.

His return will give skipper Dave Roberts plenty of flexibility, and it’s likely Taylor will continue to assume that rover role now that he’s back in Dodger blue. Looking at the 2022 roster, it seems the bulk of that time could come at second base.

Taylor played very little at the keystone down the stretch after L.A. acquired Trea Turner from the Nationals at the trade deadline. With Corey Seager now in Texas, Turner looks likely to slide back to his typical shortstop position. That’d leave Taylor and Gavin Lux as the favorites for playing time at second, with either player also capable of spelling the presumptive starting outfield of AJ Pollock, Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts.

The specific breakdown of Taylor’s deal has yet to be reported, but the $15MM average annual value is the meaningful figure from a competitive balance tax perspective. Luxury tax calculations are based on deals’ AAV’s as opposed to actual payouts structures. After accounting for the Taylor deal, the Dodgers’ 2022 CBT number sits around $231MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’d have handily exceeded the $210MM first threshold in 2021, although it’s impossible to know precisely where the CBT markers will land in the next collective bargaining agreement.

The Taylor signing also has an indirect effect on the Dodgers’ 2022 draft. He’d received and rejected an $18.4MM qualifying offer at the outset of the offseason. The Dodgers won’t directly forfeit a pick for re-signing their own free agent, but they are bypassing the pick they’d have received had they allowed Taylor to sign elsewhere. That’s a small price to pay for a player of Taylor’s caliber, though, particularly for the Dodgers. Because they exceeded the CBT threshold in 2021, they’d have only stood to recoup a pick after the fourth round had they allowed Taylor to walk.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Dodgers and Taylor were making progress on an agreement. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the sides had reached an agreement, as well as first with the contract terms. The Associated Press reported the specific breakdown of terms.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Chris Taylor

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect