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.

Over the next two seasons, Taylor was again above-average, leading to his apex in 2021. That year he hit a walk-off homer against the Cardinals in the Wild Card game to push the Dodgers into the next round of the playoffs. After the season, Taylor signed a four year, $60 million contract. With his heroics in the rearview mirror, and the contract signed, things began to change.

Taylor-Like Players Added to the Roster

Kiké Hernández rejoined the Dodgers at the trade deadline in 2023 to serve as a Swiss Army knife and play both infield and outfield. And at the trade deadline last season, Los Angeles acquired a player that president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, has been eyeing for years: Tommy Edman. Edman hits from both sides of the plate, plays an above-average center field, an above-average shortstop, and essentially every other key position on the field save for catcher.

Then, last winter, the club went to South Korea to bring in Hyeseong Kim on a three-year deal. Kim opened the season in Triple-A, and made his major league debut when Edman went on the IL with an ankle injury. In his first thirteen big league games, Kim went 14-for-31, playing solid defense as second base, shortstop, and centerfield. He has stolen three bases, and with his speed, has shown a great ability to take an extra base after a hit.

The Dodgers are juggernauts. But in order for them to continue juggernauting, the team has to make mid-season adjustments. Those typically involve the pitching staff – and this year is no different – but with the bottom of the lineup not holding its own, with production off the bench non-existent, the team felt it was time to make a change…or two. There is no reason to believe that these will be the last that they make. Friedman will be active at the deadline, trying to take advantage of their (repeat) championship window, plugging holes in the hull wherever they appear.

Saying Goodbye

Chris Taylor had a great career in Dodger blue. His contributions on the field were only outmatched by his commitment to the community off of it. Taylor and his wife Mary have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through their CT3 Foundation, which supports families in Los Angeles and in Chris’ home town of Virginia Beach. Taylor’s personal outreach to, and friendship with, kids and families around the city show the depth of the man’s character, and make him an all-time Dodger.

Los Angeles will have to eat the remainder of the final year of Taylor’s contract (roughly $9.4 million) as well as the $4 million buyout of their 2026 club option. They can afford it. And Taylor can afford to retire knowing he accomplished more on a Major League Baseball field than he ever could have imagined when he was just a middling middle-infielder floundering in the Mariners organization. It is always sad when these things end. But, when you pan back and give this player/team relationship its proper perspective, there should be nothing but laughs and smiles, as Chris Taylor, regardless of his stats, was a key part of eight division titles, four pennants, and two World Series championships. He will never again have to buy a drink in L.A.