The Royals are open to the possibility of dealing center fielder Michael A. Taylor, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. They’ve also made corner infielder/outfielder Hunter Dozier available, Rosenthal writes, although Taylor’s the more appealing of that duo.
Taylor, who turns 32 shortly before Opening Day, is coming off one of the better seasons of his career. He hit .254/.313/.357 with nine home runs over 456 plate appearances in 2022. That offensive output is below-average but it was his best work at the plate since his 19-homer showing with the Nationals back in 2017.
The right-handed hitter has a .241/.296/.381 line in a little under 2800 plate appearances over parts of nine seasons. Strikeouts have been a consistent concern for much of that time, as he routinely fanned in over 30% of his trips to the plate during his time in Washington. Taylor has trimmed that swing-and-miss a bit in recent years, though, including a career-low 23.9% strikeout percentage this past season. That’s still a few points higher than average but hardly disastrous, and his .313 on-base percentage was also his best since that 2017 campaign.
Of course, Taylor’s greater appeal lies in his defensive acumen. He’s an excellent center fielder, one who routinely posts elite marks for his glove. Taylor has rated as 60 runs above average in just shy of 5500 career innings in center, by measure of Defensive Runs Saved. Statcast has pegged him at 37 runs above par since the start of the 2016 season. Even as he’s gotten into his 30’s, the former sixth-round pick has shown no signs of tailing off. DRS pegged him as the league’s most valuable defensive center fielder this year, rating him 19 runs above average. Statcast wasn’t quite so bullish, “only” crediting him at +5 runs.
Regardless of the precise value of Taylor’s defense, there’s little question he’s a plus on that side of the ball. He’s also quite affordable, due a modest $4.5MM guarantee in the second season of a two-year contract extension. He’ll hit free agency at the end of next year, but he’d be a fine stopgap and/or a quality fourth outfielder on a contender.
That’s especially true given how shallow the center field market is. Free agency is essentially devoid of regulars at this point, highlighted by players like Jackie Bradley Jr., Rafael Ortega and Bradley Zimmer. There aren’t many obvious trade candidates either. Bryan Reynolds is the most commonly speculated target after his trade request, but the Pirates have maintained an extremely high asking price. That’s also true of the Diamondbacks, who are seeking MLB-ready help in any deal that sees them ship off Daulton Varsho, Alek Thomas or Jake McCarthy. Players like Max Kepler and Ramón Laureano could change uniforms, although they’re each better suited for right field. Cedric Mullins, Trent Grisham and Dylan Carlson all seem longshots, at best, to move.
A number of teams could check in with Kansas City about Taylor, who’d come at a much lower asking price than any of the younger options with extended windows of remaining control. Rosenthal writes the Dodgers are scouring the trade market for center field help, although it’s unclear if they have any interest in Taylor specifically. Other speculative candidates for a center field addition include the Giants, Marlins, Red Sox and Rockies.
While Taylor should generate a few calls, Kansas City figures to have a harder time finding a taker for Dozier. The 31-year-old doesn’t have much defensive value. He’s limited to the corners and has rated very poorly at third base and in the outfield, with first base and designated hitter the better fits. Dozier hasn’t hit at commensurate levels for those positions over the past two seasons, though, carrying a combined .226/.289/.391 line in 1043 plate appearances. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference have each pegged his production below replacement level in both seasons.
The Royals inked Dozier to a contract extension headed into the 2021 season, guaranteeing him $25MM over four years. That’s one the organization likely wishes they could have back, as Dozier has never taken the expected step forward after hitting .279/.348/.522 with 26 homers in 2019. The former eighth overall pick is still due $17.25MM over the next two seasons (including a buyout on a 2025 club option), and the Royals would have to eat the majority of that tab or take back an undesirable deal in return to find a taker.
If Dozier does stick in Kansas City, Rosenthal suggests the Royals would likely move him back to third base. Vinnie Pasquantino has seized either the first base or designated hitter job, while former top prospect Nick Pratto should get another chance at the other spot. MJ Melendez looks like the favorite for left field playing time, while the club has a number of outfielders (Drew Waters, Edward Olivares and Kyle Isbel) who could jockey for reps in right field.
Moving Dozier back to the hot corner would cut into the playing time of both Nate Eaton, who finished the season fairly well as a 25-year-old rookie, and former top prospect Adalberto Mondesi. Mondesi and the Royals agreed to a $3.045MM salary for next year, buying out his final season of arbitration eligibility. He’s coming off another season mostly lost to injury, this time an April ACL tear in his left knee. Rosenthal suggests K.C. could explore trades involving Mondesi as well.
Mondesi, 27, has shown an enviable combination of power potential and athleticism at times. He’s stolen 133 bases and connected on 38 home runs in 358 MLB games, flashing the elite physical tools that made him such a tantalizing young talent. Yet he’s also shown an extremely aggressive offensive approach that has impacted his consistency, and he’s just a .244/.280/.408 career hitter. Mondesi has yet to reach 500 plate appearances in a season, with oblique, hamstring, shoulder, back and groin issues all impacting him even before this year’s ACL injury. He’s a difficult player to rely upon with that kind of track record, but he’s shown flashes of impact talent intermittently as a big leaguer.
Wow this is incredible I would have never guessed the Royals would be open to moving their players, especially two guys who can’t hit.
BTW why can’t we delete comments lol
I have deleted comments that were double posted. It should work for single posted comments as well. I choose Edit, erase everything, then choose Save. It asks me to confirm deletion. I do and it’s gone.
I have lousy suits, I need a new Taylor…
Well you are in the right thread!
you 2 have me in stitches, sew to speak
Well, won’t need deep pockets to acquire Taylor.
Seams like this could go on for awhile…
It’ll be hard to type if you get cuffed.
Seams like you’ve landed in the perfect spot, consider your hunt over. Should be Taylor made for your needs.
According to Rosenthal, the Braves have some level of interest in Taylor, but I’d much rather have Adam Duvall back..
He must be making more than .75¢ this season.
Bag a balls and he’s yours
Bag a balls and he’s yours
Bag a balls and he’s yours
Bag a balls and he’s yours
But what if I already have a ball bag, can we make it a three way, and I just take the balls?
Chaim Bloom will be all over this
Donde esta en la bibliotheca Pedro.
Bag a balls and he’s yours.
Bag a balls and he’s yours.
Can’t help but notice, MLBTR has issues, sometimes it posts, sometimes it doesn’t…
Happens to me
@Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Bag a balls and he’s yours.
Curly you messed it up.
Bag a balls and he’s yours
Taylor & Trea Turner came up together in the WN system. I always thought Taylor would match Turner’s output, guess I was wrong…
Wow, Hunter Dozier. I hope they got more lines to field all those calls.
The Ham Fighters are looking for a defensive replacement. Perfect fit for Taylor.
I’d rather trade for Laureano if I were an interested team. Reynolds will cost too much & those D-Backs and Taylor really don’t interest me. Unless they want a PTBNL, lol.
Taylor was a 3 win player last year and makes $4.5m.
He’s also a really good guy – smart and modest, with a sense of humor and a great teammate. Nats fans were very fond of MAT.
you need to watch more baseball. your comment is asinine. I think most everything the Royals do is stupid, but a 4 million dollar 3 win player gets more than a PTBNL. you can not like Taylor all you want, but it doesn’t change facts.
For the past 10-21 days these boards have had well over a thousand comments regarding Cody Bellinger’s future and where he will sign. He got $12.5m along with a $5m buyout.
Michael A. Taylor is available for trade. He has a salary of $4.5m. Over the past few years he’s been a better offensive player than Cody Bellinger and just as good a defensive CF (in 2021 he won the GG on CF).
Yet all we get here is juvenile ramblings and putdown of both Mr. Taylor and the Royals.
Rest assured that there is a shortage of decent defensive CF’s, and if one can hit anything it’s a bonus. A $4.5m salary is ridiculous to get a good one. While the baseball-challenged people on this board basically line up behind momentum plays and images, rest assured that many professional front offices who thought Taylor might be available are very possibly looking at what they’ll have to give up to get him over to their team. There are quite a few CF’s starting for MLB teams today that are a lot worse and more expensive than Mr. Taylor.
Unfortunately for that argument, Taylor is a year older, likely to regress back to the mean of his career, and be a replacement level player in 2023. Dayton likely was the only reason he was resigned at the end of the 2021 season. JJ and staff know he’s due for regression and blocking others on a rebuilding team. Best to maximize the value now, but teams aren’t stupid to overvalue Taylor because he had a great year. Sure he could do it again, it’s just not likely.
@2015 couldn’t have said it better myself.
@Samuel
But you know exactly why Bellinger signed for 17.5 guaranteed and why Taylor gets paid what he does. Bellinger has extreme upside if he can get completely healthy and the other guy not so much.
I compare Taylor more to Kevin Kiermaier. For me, Taylor is in the same tier of Kiermaier at half the price and twice as likely to be healthy all season.
Samuel, I find it curious that there seem to be so many shortstops throughout professional baseball but so few centerfielders. If your kid can play, I would see if he could be in centerfield once he gets to high school and college. Seems like the demand outpaces the supply and this could be taken advantage of by the next generation of talent. Just a thought.
We finally agree on something.
I agree with Samuel but he has me muted so I can’t tell him.
Taylor + Dozier + Barlow to the Giants. Giants need a defensive minded outfielder and have the cash to absorb the Dozier contract. Barlow’s value helps offset the acquisition cost. Pieces like Staumont and Mondesi make sense as well.
Taylor is a great 4th outfieder for a contending team. But that’s not going to fetch the Royals much.
Dodgers take Taylor and Mondesi.
What about ‘Man-Frappe’?
‘Testicle goo’
Perfect timing.
#bringhosmerhome
This has Giants written all over it
I’ve always felt he’d be a great Giant.
Well, he won’t make Giant fans forget about Willie Mays, but the Giants do seem to have a lust for over-thirty players who are past their prime or never even had one.
Damn, Backup, your text changed my mind. Very insightful and thought provoking. I never realized what little I knew about Taylor. Thanks
Calling it now, this is Toronto’s 4th outfielder. They can’t afford to do anything else but they need a legit healthy backup for what’s left of Kiermaier’s ghost coming in for 28 games lol.
Kiermaier’s already been placed on their IL in advance of the season starting so yes they will need something.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Toronto pick up Taylor to play CF against lefties and as coverage for the inveitable KK injury. At this point in their careers he’s probably the better defender too.
Taylor could also pinch run and take over for Lourdes in left in the later innings.
I would prefer they trade for someone like Varsho, but if that is not in the cards (there was a report saying that KK was told he will be the starter in CF), then they should at least pick up some insurance.
He probably won’t cost too much in trade and his salary is less than what a 4th outfielder would cost on the open market.
I don’t see anyone wanting Hunter Dozier. It would probably have to be a bad contract swap or something. Maybe to the Mets for James McCann?
I’d rather have Cedric Mullens in I’m the Giants. He got a pretty swing and hits for high average. HR aren’t his game so he wouldn’t be down on the park. Taylor probably doesn’t cost as much though
Mullins is one my favorite players to watch if I were Baltimore I wouldn’t even think about trading that dude. I would think he’d be a part of what they’re building there he’s a very toolsy player.
Mullins is a fan favorite at Camden Yards. I doubt the Os, coming off a very good season, will move him now. Maybe the O’s trade him in July if last year’s success doesn’t carry over to 2023. However, I believe the O’s have a shot at 90 wins this year, and even in the AL East, that could get them into the playoffs..
Crabs and Natty-Bos are on me if the O’s make it.
“DRS pegged him as the league’s most valuable defensive center fielder this year, rating him 19 runs above average. Statcast wasn’t quite so bullish, “only” crediting him at +5 runs.”
This is what I don’t like about sabermetrics, everyone has different numbers for the same thing. Every website has different numbers for WAR and defensive numbers.
So you don’t “like” sabermetrics because they aren’t universally agreed? That’s not what they aim to do; they aim to paint us the best picture that fits the underlying understanding of value in the sport. Consider how defense used to be valued: errors, and the eye test. Not awful, because scouts are good at their jobs, but still too fueled by perception and largely not accessible to fans. Then we’re had some basic metrics based on raw numbers (e.g. zone rating), and those were useful data points with known limitations. Early advanced metrics further raised the accuracy and objectivity of defensive evaluation, and the present metrics that are widely cited are even better. Just because they disagree and typically are best used in concert isn’t a problem, unless one is the type who prefers everything be one stop shop. All measures have an inherent error range between the number they give and the underlying quality of play that number aims to represent, so it’s inevitable that good measures of any sort will disagree to some extent.
As an actuary, I’m pretty much into making projections based on data. But there are many different techniques involved, so possibly, differing opinions.
A stat for every argument. What’s not to like?
No matter how you feel about sabermetrics, defensive metrics are a mess. In their defense we hear all sorts of funny arguments about how the interpret and manipulate them meaningful. But healthy statistical models don’t need much interpretation or any manipulation to tell a story.
He’s a starter because he’s on the Royals.
seems like a Jackie Bradley Jr clone….just a bit younger. No thanks.
They SHOULD be open to trade offers on anyone not named Witt, Singer and maybe Pasquantino.