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Chris Taylor

Remembering A Dodgers Heist

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As a versatile defender and a capable offensive player, Chris Taylor has been one of many eminently useful members of the Dodgers’ roster since 2017. But Taylor’s career did not begin in ideal fashion. A fifth-round pick of the Mariners in 2012, Taylor peaked as Baseball America’s ninth-ranked M’s prospect in 2014, and though he reached the majors for the first time that year, it took him a few years to come into his own.

Taylor showed off almost zero pop early in his big league career, evidenced by his one home run and .076 isolated power number across 318 plate appearances through 2016. Taylor had plenty of high moments in the Mariners’ minor league system, where he hit .314/.401/.455 in 1,856 PA, but could only muster a measly line of .240/296/.296 (71 wRC+) in the majors. Consequently, general manager Jerry Dipoto – who did not draft Taylor – gave him up in June 2016, sending him to the Dodgers for right-hander Zach Lee.

At the time of the Seattle-LA deal, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk wrote, “Given Taylor’s impressive minor league numbers, it’s not out of the question that he could unlock some of that hitting prowess in the bigs.”

Mark couldn’t have been more right. Taylor saw little time with the Dodgers in his first year with the organization (just 62 PA), but he became a regular for the club the next season and has been an integral part of the perennial contenders’ roster since then. Going back to 2017, Taylor has slashed .268/.340/.468 (116 wRC+) with 50 homers and 9.6 fWAR, all while making relatively minimal salaries. Taylor’s still under affordable control through 2021, so as someone who can hit and play just about every position (he has lined up at second, third, short and all three outfield spots in LA), it should be a no-brainer for the Dodgers to keep him in the fold for at least the next couple years.

While the Dodgers struck gold on Taylor, the Mariners got nothing out of this swap. Lee entered the pro ranks as the 28th overall pick of the Dodgers in 2010, deciding to try for a baseball career instead of playing football at LSU. Signing the former quarterback cost the Dodgers a franchise-record bonus of $5.25MM, and Lee lived up to the hype for a little while. He was among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects three times (2011, ’12 and ’14), but Lee had an up-and-down minor league run as a Dodger and made just one appearance with the big club. In a 15-2 loss to the Mets in July 2015, Lee yielded seven earned runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. That was the only time he took the mound as a Dodger.

So what has become of Lee since the Mariners acquired him? Well, he had a fleeting run in the Seattle org, which lost him on waivers to San Diego in December 2016. Lee has since been with three other franchises – the Rays, Mets and Athletics (the A’s signed him to a minors pact this past offseason). He’s still just 28, and as a former high-end prospect, it may be too soon to give up on Lee. However, as the owner of a 5.41 ERA over 625 1/3 innings in Triple-A ball, it seems unlikely he’ll amount to much in the majors. Considering how Lee’s pro career has gone thus far, the Dodgers have to be thrilled with the return they got for him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Lindor, Galvis, C. Taylor, Olympics

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As recently as mid-February, Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor called Cleveland “home” and expressed a willingness to stay with the club. No extension has come together yet, but Indians president Chris Antonetti said Tuesday that “neither side has given up trying,” per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. However, Lindor noted he has an “early March” deadline on contract talks, so it appears the Indians are running out of time to lock him up in the near future (if they haven’t already). Odds have long been against the Indians finding a way to keep Lindor from hitting free agency when his team control runs out after 2021, as the 26-year-old is on pace to wind up with one of the largest contracts in the history of the game if and when he reaches the open market.

  • Reds shortstop Freddy Galvis suffered “a quad strain during a baserunning drill,” according to manager David Bell (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Galvis underwent an MRI, but the severity of the injury isn’t known at this time. The Reds looked ripe for an upgrade at short during the offseason, but they instead stuck with Galvis, whom they claimed from Toronto last August and then retained by way of a $5.5MM club option during the winter. Now, if Galvis’ injury is severe enough to cost him regular-season time, it’s unclear who will fill in at short for the Reds. Alex Blandino and Kyle Farmer might be the most logical in-house choices, but neither brings much experience to the table.
  • Dodgers utility player Chris Taylor’s out of action for the moment after taking a pitch off the back of the left shoulder, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. There’s no indication that it’s anything but a minor injury for Taylor, whom a fractured left forearm limited to 124 games in 2019. The versatile Taylor was a highly valuable player for the Dodgers from 2017-18, but his numbers dipped last season during a campaign in which he batted .262/.333/.462 with 1.7 fWAR in 414 plate appearances.
  • Major League Baseball and the MLBPA reached a deal with the world baseball governing body that will allow minor leaguers to participate in this summer’s Olympic Games, the Yonhap News Agency relays. The agreement will give national teams the right to select minor leaguers from MLB teams’ 40-man rosters to participate in the Olympics, but anyone on a 26-man roster will be protected. That means there could be some familiar names to baseball fans in the Olympics, which will include the sport for the first time in 12 years.

Dodgers Reach Two-Year Arbitration Deal With Chris Taylor

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The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with utilityman Chris Taylor, per a team announcement. He’ll ink a two-year deal that resolves his arb salaries for both 2020 and 2021, providing respective payouts of $5.6MM and $7.8MM, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

Taylor had been headed for an arbitration hearing. He was seeking a $5.8MM salary, with the Dodgers offering $5.25MM in return. Instead, the sides saw eye to eye on an agreement that provides Taylor some security and gives the club cost certainty.

The 29-year-old Taylor hasn’t quite performed to the level of his breakout 2017 season, but has remained a highly valuable contributor for the Dodgers in the ensuing two seasons. All told, he carries a cumulative .268/.340/.468 batting line since the start of the 2017 season.

Taylor adds value on the bases and in the field, where he’s especially useful given his ability to handle every non-battery position. Obviously the Dodgers foresee another productive campaign from the former fifth-round pick.

2020 Arbitration Filing Numbers

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MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today’s deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projections are available here.

After a busy day of dealmaking, 161 players (at last check) have reached agreement on arbitration salaries for the coming season. But 29 other tendered players have yet to reach reported agreements with their clubs. Of course, those players can still settle before their hearings (which will take place in early to mid-February). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side’s figures, rather than settling on a midpoint. It’s hardly an unusual number of unresolved cases at this stage, but there are quite a few high-dollar situations still at issue and teams have increasingly adopted a “file-and-trial” approach to the process in recent years. (That is, no negotiations on single-season salaries after the deadline to exchange figures.)

We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker. We’ll update this list as the figures are reported:

Winter Meetings Preview: The Dodgers’ Infield

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have unsurprisingly been asked about the availability of Gavin Lux, the Dodgers’ minor league player of the year for 2019. Thus far, understandably, suitors have been turned away, per MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. Granted, this isn’t shocking news in and of itself, but it is telling of the Dodgers’ mindset on the eve of the winter meetings.

Lux, 22, is coming off a monster season that saw him hulk out for a .347/.421/.607 line in 113 games across Double-A and Triple-A (which included a monstrous-even-for-the-PCL .719 SLG and 188 wRC+ in 49 games in Triple-A). He didn’t disappoint in a cup of coffee with the big league club, holding his own at .240/.305/.400 in 23 games of uneven playing time. He proved capable enough to make the playoff roster and earn the start in games 2 and 4 in the NLDS versus the Nationals.

It’s not surprising that the Dodgers would make a point to hang onto the young star, but doing so doesn’t exactly jibe with their rumored interest in free agent Anthony Rendon. Justin Turner has made clear his openness to moving around the diamond, and while it’s certainly nice to be reminded that chivalry is not yet dead, it’s not obvious where Turner would move if the Dodgers are indeed intent on making Lux a part of their core moving forward.

A Corey Seager trade could open a spot with Lux taking over at short, Max Muncy taking full-time duties at second and Turner moving to first. Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, and NL MVP Cody Bellinger are capable of filling in around the infield as needed. But as good as Rendon is, Seager himself was a 4.0 bWAR player in 2019, and it would seem that the Seager/Lux/Muncy/Bellinger/Taylor/Hernandez/Turner septet already provides the perfect amount of wholesale injury coverage and star power. Swapping in Rendon for Seager cuts their shortstop options by one, and while they’d still probably be two injuries away from any real panic, it’s still a little hard to fathom why swapping in Rendon and his presumably monstrous contract makes sense – unless the goal is simply to keep the development train moving by restocking the lower levels via trade.

They could certainly sign Rendon – or Josh Donaldson, for that matter – and shop one of their other infielders, but there’s not a natural fit on that front either. Turner and Muncy have been central figures to the culture and success of the Dodgers in recent seasons, and it’s frankly jarring to imagine either one suiting up elsewhere. Moving Taylor or Hernandez neither frees up at-bats nor brings back a significant prospect haul.

The logical conclusion is that the Dodgers’ interest in Rendon is probably more smoke than fire. President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman has made a point of avoiding lavish and reactionary spending, and a Rendon signing would appear to qualify as both. Luxury tax estimates (per Roster Resource) peg the Dodgers at around $176MM for the upcoming season, which would make it difficult to fit Rendon under the tax line. Their longer-term financial picture is more flexible, however, with only ~$93MM on the books for 2021 and ~$33MM the year after.

The Dodgers did suffer a particularly tough playoff defeat in 2019, and after seven years of making the playoffs and coming home without a ring, it’s fair to wonder if the disciplined roster building that’s become the brand of these Los Angeles Dodgers might finally break under the strain of those playoff defeats. Andrew Friedman is also one of the more creative thinkers in the game and if there’s a way to make this work, he’s sure to find it. But it’s also not hard to see why they’d keep on keeping on with business as usual.

Chris Taylor Begins Rehab Assignment

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Injured Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor began a rehab assignment at the Single-A level Thursday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com relays. There’s no word on how long it’ll take Taylor to return to the majors.

The Dodgers have been without the versatile Taylor since July 14, when he fractured his left forearm. The hope then was Taylor would only sit out four to six weeks, but he obviously won’t make it back to the Dodgers at the low end of that timeline. Unsurprisingly, the depth- and talent-laden Dodgers have continued to thrive in Taylor’s absence. They owned a 62-33 record after the game in which he incurred his injury and now sit 81-42, which is easily the best record in the National League and places them a ridiculous 19 games up in the NL West.

Los Angeles’ roster figures to become even formidable with the return of Taylor, who overcame a slow start to post respectable numbers prior to his injury. While the 28-year-old’s overall production has fallen short of the figures he recorded from 2017-18, he has still slashed .261/.334/.452 (105 wRC+) with eight home runs and seven stolen bases.

Defensively, Taylor has logged double-digit appearances at both middle infield positions and in left field. LA has been in good hands in those spots without Taylor, however, as Max Muncy has manned the keystone and Corey Seager has handled short. As for the corner outfield, although Alex Verdugo’s also on the IL, the Dodgers have largely deployed NL MVP candidate Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson and Matt Beaty to successful results of late.

NL Injury Notes: Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Brewers

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Dodgers southpaw Rich Hill has made just one appearance in relief since he revived his career in 2015, but it’s possible he’ll finish the season in bullpen when he comes off the injured list, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register relays. Hill has been out since June 20 with a flexor tendon strain, and while his recovery’s going well, he may not have enough time to build up his arm strength for a return to the Dodgers’ rotation. “Ideally, starting is the priority,” said Hill, but he’s just eager to “get back to pitching” in some capacity. Meanwhile, utilityman Chris Taylor – who fractured his left forearm July 14 – remains hopeful he’ll come back at the low end of the four- to six-week period the Dodgers said he would miss. Taylor will first have to embark on a rehab assignment, though, and he hasn’t progressed to that point yet.

More from the NL…

  • Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler is dealing with pectoral discomfort, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report. The Cubs will have more information on Kintzler on Tuesday, but a stint on the injured list would be another unwelcome development for a bullpen that just lost closer Craig Kimbrel to the IL. Kintzler has rebounded from a rocky 2018 to serve as one of the Cubs’ go-to bullpen arms this season. The 35-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 2.33 ERA/3.45 FIP with 7.77 K/9, 1.94 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent groundball rate in 46 1/3 innings.
  • The Phillies are “optimistic” injured lefty reliever Adam Morgan will pitch again this year, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. A second opinion confirmed Morgan won’t need surgery after a flexor strain forced him to the IL on Aug. 2. He won’t return to throwing for two weeks, however, and that’s assuming he gets through that time frame without pain. Morgan owns a 3.94 ERA/4.33 FIP with 8.8 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 across 29 2/3 frames. Lefties have hit a horrid .143/.250/.204 against him.
  • The Brewers sent one of their top starters, righty Zach Davies, to the IL with a back issue on Monday. Davies discussed the problem with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters, saying he’s “not concerned” it’ll lead to a lengthy absence. Davies has fallen flat over his most three most recent outings, though the wild card-contending Brewers can ill afford to go without another starter for a long period. They were already sans their No. 1, Brandon Woodruff, as well as Jhoulys Chacin before Davies hit the shelf. To this point, Davies has defied underwhelming peripherals to post a solid 3.74 ERA in 122 2/3 innings.

Chris Taylor Diagnosed With Fractured Forearm

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10:09pm: Taylor said he suffered a non-displaced fracture just above the wrist, which typically comes with a four- to-six week recovery (Twitter link via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).

5:50pm: Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor has been diagnosed with a fractured forearm, per a club announcement (via Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, on Twitter). He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Matt Beaty.

It isn’t known at present what kind of an absence the club can anticipate from Taylor, a shape-shifting defender and steady offensive producer. Initial imaging did not uncover the break; whether that’s good, bad, or indifferent isn’t evident.

With the trade deadline landing in two weeks’ time, the Dodgers will have an opportunity to pursue reinforcements. Corey Seager and A.J. Pollock are both back, reducing the pressure. The organization is as laden with depth as ever, with top middle-infield prospect Gavin Lux among the players waiting in the wings in the upper minors.

The Dodgers won’t worry too much about a stretch sans Taylor. With a commanding division lead, the club can focus its deadline efforts on shaping its roster for the postseason. Unless the injury is quite a bit more severe than it seems at first glance, Taylor ought to have time to get back to health and up to full speed before October.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed yesterday at 1pm ET, and there has been a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track those settlements from the National League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Rounding out contract numbers for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominic Leone will take home $1.26MM, Chasen Shreve will make $900K, and outfielder Marcell Ozuna will earn $12.25MM in his last season before free agency, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ozuna has the most high-impact potential as he looks to rebound from a still-productive season in 2018 that saw his power output hindered at times by a balky shoulder. He still managed 23 home runs and a .280/.325/.433 slash line while playing just about every day outside of a 10-day DL stint late in August.
  • The Diamondbacks came to terms with a slew of players, per Feinsand (via Twitter), including Matt Andriese for $920K, Steven Souza Jr. for $4.125MM, shortstop Nick Ahmed for $3.6625MM, and potential closer Archie Bradley for $1.83MM.
  • The Rockies and starting pitcher Jon Gray have come to an agreement on a $2.935MM deal, per Feinsand (via Twitter). Gray had an up-and-down 2018 that is generally considered to be more promising than the optics of his 5.12 ERA make it seem.
  • The Pirates have come to terms on one-year deals with both of their arbitration eligible players, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Left fielder Corey Dickerson signs for $8.5MM, and reliever Keone Kela takes home $3.175MM. It’s a small arb class for the Pirates, whose list will grow next season as players like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, and Joe Musgrove, among others, reach their first season of eligibility.
  • The Dodgers signed a couple of their remaining arbitration-eligible players yesterday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). Utility man Chris Taylor has a $3.5MM deal, while outfield Joc Pederson settled at $5MM.

Earlier Updates

Read more

West Notes: Taylor, Joc, Rangers, QO, A’s

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Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto understandably regrets the deal that sent Chris Taylor to the Dodgers,telling Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times that “it’s clearly the worst deal I’ve ever made.” The veteran baseball executive surely had little reason to expect Taylor to break through as he has, but he still says he “whiffed” by parting with such a controllable player for a pitcher (Zach Lee) that has not worked out.

More from out west:

  • He is playing for the Dodgers in the World Series, but Joc Pederson might conceivably not remain in Los Angeles beyond the present season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. There are alternatives on hand, particularly in light of Taylor’s emergence, and the Dodgers could also look to add other pieces. Of course, the Los Angeles front office has thrived on ensuring plenty of depth and surely won’t just give Pederson away despite his struggles in 2017, though surely there’d be quite a few teams intrigued at the idea of buying low on Pederson’s powerful bat. Sherman also notes that the Dodgers were in on Yulieski Gurriel before he landed with the Astros, though Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman says his team never formally bid on the Cuban star.
  • MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan looks at some recent Rangers players currently slated to hit the open market. As he notes, veteran knuckler R.A. Dickey could conceivably be a consideration for a reunion, though it’s not clear that the team will suit Dickey’s geographical preferences. More intriguingly, perhaps, Sullivan adds that Miles Mikolas — who excelled in Japan after leaving Texas — has left the Rangers “highly intrigued.” Elsewhere, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News analyzes the team’s options at first base. Ronald Guzman could be an option alongside Joey Gallo, notes Grant, perhaps leaving the team interested in acquiring a part-time, right-handed-hitting option to join the mix.
  • First, the Rangers will have to decide upon a qualifying offer for righty Andrew Cashner. Despite some prior indications that the team might issue one, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports that’s not likely at this point. Similarly, says Heyman, the Reds are “leaning against” a QO for shortstop Zack Cozart — though the team is said to be willing to pursue a multi-year deal in free agency.
  • The Athletics may be looking into some intriguing extension possibilities, Heyman further reports. Young standouts Matt Olson and Matt Chapman appear to be in the team’s sights. While neither is really even approaching arbitration, let alone free agency, perhaps Oakland will look to find value by making an early-career guarantee or two over the winter to come. Otherwise, says Heyman, the A’s are focused on adding some pieces to the bullpen and perhaps getting a righty outfield bat over the offseason.
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