While the Los Angeles Dodgers have jumped out as one of the more impressive offensive teams to begin the 2019 season, not every position player on the 25-man roster can say they have contributed to that success.
One player who has struggled for the better part of April is utility man Chris Taylor. The 28-year-old hasn’t been able to replicate the production he enjoyed over the previous two seasons in which the Dodgers advanced to the World Series on both occasions.
Entering Friday, Taylor finds himself sporting a weak .161/.246/.242 batting line with two doubles, one home run and six RBI over 69 plate appearances (26 games).
Despite his season-long woes to this point, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that he isn’t currently considering removing Taylor from his platoon role in left field, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“It’s not nearly enough time for me to even broach that,” Roberts said. “Chris has done it for us for two years at this level. For me, he’s going to get more leash because I believe in the person.”
“With C.T., he hasn’t been synced up in quite some time, going back to Spring Training,” Roberts said. “When you get into the season, you still have to give guys that you feel give you the best chance of winning each day. Where he’s going, there’s a balance of still trying to get him untracked.
It’s not surprising that Roberts isn’t ready to give up on Taylor. He historically has provided players with every opportunity to emerge from a slump, and at times been rewarded for that faith.
As an effort to get him going at the plate, Roberts penciled Taylor in the starting lineup for all three games against the Chicago Cubs.
With left-handed starters on the mound throughout the series at Wrigley Field, Taylor recorded just one hit, had two RBI and four strikeouts in nine at-bats. Should his struggles linger into May, it wouldn’t be shocking if Alex Verdugo received more opportunities against southpaws, or even Joc Pederson for that matter despite his struggles against the same split.