All-Star Chris Taylor returns to Dodgers on four-year deal
by Rowan Kavner
All-Star Chris Taylor, one of the top offensive producers of the 2021 postseason and one of the most versatile defenders in Major League Baseball, is back with the Dodgers.
The super-utility player signed a four-year deal that will keep him in Los Angeles until at least the 2025 season with a team option for a fifth year. Sheldon Neuse was designated for assignment to make room for Taylor on the 40-man roster.
Taylor slashed .254/.344/.438 with 20 home runs and 13 stolen bases while setting career highs in runs (92) and RBI (73) for the Dodgers last season. He thrived in October, hitting a walk-off home run in the Wild Card Game and going 13-for-37 (.351) with four home runs, four doubles and 12 RBI overall in the postseason. Three of those home runs came in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.
He has hit .264/.341/.458 with 79 home runs and 50 stolen bases in parts of six seasons as a Dodger. Over the last five years, Taylor has a 114 OPS+ and has been worth 14.1 wins above replacement (according to FanGraphs’ version of the statistic), which ranks fifth among Dodger position players and 44th among Major League players. He hasn’t needed one set position to become one of the Dodgers’ most valuable pieces.
Taylor has played at least four different defensive positions in each of the past five seasons. Last year, Taylor played all three outfield positions as well as second base, shortstop and third base on his way to becoming an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Retaining Taylor became even more important on a day shortstop Corey Seager signed with the Rangers and pitcher Max Scherzer signed with the Mets. Taylor’s presence gives the Dodgers another second base option along with Gavin Lux if they choose to shift Trea Turner back to his normal spot at shortstop next year.
The Dodgers could also continue to use Taylor in the outfield, where the former middle infielder got his first reps in 2017. Taylor logged most of his time in left field and center field that season, posting an .850 OPS in a career year that ended with him being named NLCS MVP. In 2018, he started 73 games at shortstop while Seager missed most of the year following Tommy John and hip surgeries.
Taylor has since bounced around wherever needed. He logged most of his innings last year in center field (48 starts, 423 innings) while Cody Bellinger was injured for much of the season. Taylor also made 33 starts at second base, 19 starts at shortstop, 16 starts in left field, nine starts at third base and seven starts in right field. The Dodgers continued to utilize Taylor’s versatility in the postseason, where he recorded starts at center field, left field and third base.
While many wondered if Taylor might take hold of a more permanent starting spot at second base last year after Kiké Hernández went to Boston, Taylor was content to continue helping in any role asked.
“The most important thing to me is playing,” he said last spring. “If I’m on the field, I’m happy. Whether I’m playing second base every day or shortstop every day or outfield or all of those, I really just want to be on the field as much as I can be.”
His new deal ensures he will be on the field in a Dodger uniform for at least four more years.
