The Los Angeles Dodgers recently made the decision to move on from Chris Taylor, who at the time was their longest-tenured position player on the roster.
Taylor was in his 10th season with the Dodgers after famously being acquired in a trade with the Seattle Mariners for former highly-regarded prospect Zach Lee. Taylor became an important piece of the franchise and one of their top contributors from 2017-2021.
The Dodgers signed Taylor to a four-year, $60 million contract just before the MLB lockout began in December 2021, but things started to go south soon after.
The Dodgers’ decision to release Taylor was difficult, but he is excited for a fresh start after signing with the Los Angeles Angels, via Benjamin Royer of the L.A. Times:
“It was emotional,” Taylor said of his Dodgers departure. “I’ve been on the Dodgers for nine years, but I do believe it was time for me. It was my time to kind of start fresh, hopefully turn the page, start a new chapter. I’m excited to do that here.”
From the time of signing his contract until getting released, Taylor hit just .222/.307/.369 and lost playing time each season. By the end of his Dodgers’ tenure, Taylor had just 35 plate appearances on the season.
But during Taylor’s time with the Dodgers, he became an All-Star in 2021, won the 2017 National League Championship Series MVP Award, and was a two-time World Series champion.
He appeared in 1,007 games, hitting .250/.330/.431 with 184 doubles, 30 triples 108 home runs, 423 RBI and 480 runs scored.
Taylor joined the Angels just over one week after the Dodgers released him. He signed a one-year contract for the league minimum and started in center field his first day with the club.
Dodgers explain decision to release Chris Taylor
Along with releasing Taylor, the Dodgers also moved on from Austin Barnes a week earlier.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has demonstrated an openness to keep a player on the roster for clubhouse and leadership purposes even if it meant waning production. That’s part of what’s made the decision so difficult for the club.
“This has been a very emotional week for all of us,” Friedman said. “Barnesy and C.T. have been in the middle of some huge moments for this organization. Both guys have left an indelible mark on our culture and where we’re at at this point.
“So the decisions were incredibly difficult. The conversations were tough, but with where we are, division race, composition of roster, everything, we felt like this was in the Dodgers’ best interest, in terms of how to win as many games and put us in position to best win a World Series this year.
“Doesn’t mean that it was easy, but ultimately felt like it was the right thing to do. … I feel like our culture is in a significantly stronger spot than it was five years ago. And I hope five years from now, it’ll be even stronger.
“And if that’s the case, their fingerprints are still going to be on that. The lasting impact that those guys have had is real. And so again, that’s what made it so difficult and so emotional.
“But balancing that with our roster and how to win the most games. And we’ve got a lot of guys who’ve been here a long time still, and we’ve got some new guys as well. We talk about this every off season, it’s a really delicate balance of figuring out the right way to handle the stability and continuity, versus infusing some new guys.”
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