Cubs Place Edward Cabrera On 15-Day IL, Recall Jordan Wicks
Right-hander Edward Cabrera is heading to the injured list, the Cubs announced. Cabrera left his most recent start with a blister on his right middle finger. The injury will cost him at least a couple of weeks. Lefty Jordan Wicks was recalled to take Cabrera’s spot on the roster.
More to come…
Rangers Notes: Gore, Seager, Jung
Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore is expected to start tonight against the Angels, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Texas fans can now breathe a sigh of relief. Gore was removed from his start on Monday with a back injury, but appears good to go for his next turn in the rotation.
Gore seemed to be shaken up after diving for a groundball in the first inning against the Rockies last time out. He managed to finish the frame, but was then relieved by Peyton Gray. Gore was charged with two earned runs on three hits and two walks in his lone inning of work.
The Rangers landed Gore in a blockbuster deal with the Nationals that sent five players back to Washington. The 27-year-old is off to an uneven beginning to his tenure in Texas. Gore piled up 25 strikeouts over his first three starts, recording a pair of wins. The lefty battled control issues from there, handing out 16 free passes over his next 23 2/3 frames. Gore bounced back with eight innings of one-run ball in his outing before the abbreviated appearance on Monday.
Gore was expected to form a three-headed monster at the top of the rotation with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. It hasn’t exactly come to fruition. After a strong April, deGrom has been tagged for 16 earned runs in four May outings. He’s allowed eight home runs in that stretch. Eovaldi has settled in recently, but a brutal start to the campaign still has his numbers lagging behind his tremendous 2025 output.
Here are a couple of other injury items for the Rangers…
- Shortstop Corey Seager will not face live pitching today as originally planned. His balky back didn’t respond properly after a workout on Friday. “We’re trying to figure out the next steps,” manager Skip Schumaker told reporters, including McFarland. Seager hit the injured list earlier this week with lower back inflammation. After missing a series last weekend against the Astros, he was sent to see the Rangers’ back specialist. The 32-year-old Seager is scuffling through his worst offensive season as a big leaguer.
- Third baseman Josh Jung left Saturday’s matchup against the Angels due to left shoulder soreness. He went 0-for-2 before being replaced in the lineup by Michael Helman. Jung told reporters he was “scared more than anything” and “should be alright” moving forward (h/t again to McFarland). The infielder had surgery to repair a torn labrum in that same shoulder heading into the 2022 season. Duran slid over to cover third base when Jung left yesterday. He’s been the regular shortstop since Seager went down. It’ll likely be Duran at third and Helman at short tonight if Jung can’t go.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Guardians Designate Peyton Pallette For Assignment, Recall Logan Allen
Right-hander Peyton Pallette has been designated for assignment, the Guardians announced. Lefty Logan Allen is rejoining the big-league club to take his spot in the bullpen.
Cleveland picked up Pallette from the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft. As part of the standard DFA process, the club has five days to trade him or place him on waivers. If another team makes a move to add Pallette, they’ll take on the Rule 5 requirements. If Pallette passes through waivers, he’ll be offered back to Chicago.
Pallette scuffled to a 5.23 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with the Guardians. He punched out opponents at a decent 22.7% clip, but it came with an untenable 16.5% walk rate. The righty led with a 95 mph four-seamer, accompanied by a pair of breaking balls. He threw the occasional changeup. Pallette’s curveball and slider both performed well, generating decent whiffs and preventing hits. The fastball was an issue. Pallette’s heater ceded a 51.6% hard-hit rate and a .410 wOBA.
The White Sox took Pallette in the second round of the 2022 draft. He posted strong strikeout numbers in each level of the minors, which is what likely drew Cleveland’s interest. Walks were becoming a problem before Pallette moved to his new organization. The righty had a 9.9% walk rate last season at Double-A, and it jumped to 10.9% after he was moved to Triple-A.
Allen has pitched in parts of the last three seasons with the Guardians. He’s worked almost exclusively as a starter in the big leagues, posting a 4.48 ERA in 74 appearances (73 starts). Allen has struggled from a run prevention perspective through eight Triple-A outings this season, but he’s notched a solid 25.4% strikeout rate. He’ll likely step into a long relief role with Cleveland. Allen could also operate as a sixth starter if the club wants to get some extra rest for the rotation. The Guardians are playing their 10th straight game on Sunday during a two-week stretch without an off-day.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Cardinals Promote Brycen Mautz For Debut
10:15am: The promotion is now official. St. Louis optioned right-hander Matt Svanson to Triple-A to clear a spot for Mautz.
9:45am: Cardinals left-hander Brycen Mautz will be called up for his MLB debut on Sunday, relays Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He’ll slide into the rotation with St. Louis coming off a doubleheader on Saturday.
It’ll be the second straight day with a big-league debut for the Cardinals, who promoted infielder/outfielder Bryan Torres on Friday. The longtime minor leaguer didn’t get into the first game against the Reds, but started both matchups of Saturday’s twin bill. Torres recorded three hits across the two games.
Mautz has delivered a sub-3.00 ERA across nine starts at Triple-A this season. He’s striking out more than a batter per inning, but his 13.5% walk rate is a career-worst mark. The 24-year-old is not among the upper tier of prospects in the St. Louis system, but he’s generally among the top 20 in the organization. FanGraphs‘ James Fegan ranked Mautz at No. 17 heading into the season, while MLB Pipeline had him at 20th.
The Cardinals selected Mautz in the second round of the 2022 draft out of the University of San Diego. The lefty posted decent results in his first pro season, recording a sub-4.00 ERA at Single-A. He took a step back in High-A the following year, with a 5.18 ERA to go with a 4.86 FIP. Mautz came through with a breakout season in 2025. He cruised to a 2.98 ERA with a career-best 28.6% strikeout rate in 25 starts at Double-A. Mautz was named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year last season.
This could be a brief stint for Mautz, as the Cardinals don’t have a clear hole in the rotation. The group has remained healthy and generally provided decent results. Veterans Dustin May, Matthew Liberatore, and Andre Pallante haven’t excelled on a per-inning basis, but they’re offering length each time they take the ball. Michael McGreevy is off to a strong start. Kyle Leahy‘s transition to the rotation has gone reasonably well.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
The Opener: Melton, Kurtz, Corbin
Veteran infielder Chris Taylor is not retiring. The 35-year-old has reversed course, instead going on the minor league injured list with a fractured forearm. Taylor split last season between the Dodgers and Angels. He re-upped with the Angels on a minor league deal this year.
1. Melton nearing return
Tigers right-hander Troy Melton could be activated today against the Orioles. The 25-year-old opened the season on the IL with an elbow injury. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported earlier this week that Melton would be in the mix for Sunday’s game. Detroit has a doubleheader today after Saturday’s matchup in Baltimore was rained out. Evan Woodbery of MLive.com pointed out that right-hander Keider Montero has been bumped to Tuesday, which would suggest an alternative option starting today (like Melton). Melton has a 1.54 ERA over four minor league outings. He emerged as an important swingman during last year’s postseason run.
2. Kurtz matches Henderson
Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz singled in the first inning on Saturday against the Padres. The base hit pushed his on-base streak to 46 games, tying him with Rickey Henderson for the third-longest single-season run in franchise history. Jimmie Foxx is next on the list at 47 games. Mark McGwire sits atop the franchise leaderboard with a 48-game on-base streak in 1996. After a slow start to the season, Kurtz has put together a tremendous six-week stretch. He’s up to 6th in the league among qualified hitters in wRC+. Kurtz’s .444 OBP is 25 points ahead of the next-closest player.
3. Corbin outduels Skenes
Blue Jays lefty Patrick Corbin delivered six innings of one-run ball against the Pirates on Saturday, earning the win. It was the veteran’s first time completing six innings since August 2025. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. Corbin comfortably outpitched Paul Skenes, who allowed four earned runs over five innings. Skenes has allowed nine earned runs over his past two starts, after he opened May with two scoreless eight-inning outings. George Springer launched a leadoff home run to open the scoring. Toronto chased Skenes in the sixth inning with four consecutive hits. He finished with just two strikeouts, his worst mark since the fateful Opening Day start against the Mets.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han of USA Today, via Imagn Images
Mariners Notes: Crawford, Rotation, Castillo
J.P. Crawford has been a key part of the Mariners’ lineup since joining the club in 2019. In over 3,800 plate appearances with Seattle, Crawford has batted .248/.341/.369 with a 107 wRC+ while providing serviceable defense at shortstop, including 9 Defensive Runs Saved as recently as 2024. That said, the recently extended Colt Emerson is Seattle’s shortstop of the future, and Crawford, in his final season of club control, has volunteered to play third base to accommodate Emerson.
Crawford’s willingness to play the hot corner will add to his value in free agency, and it may also help his chances of returning to the Mariners. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Crawford’s agent met with general manager Justin Hollander following Crawford’s asking to try third base, reiterating the latter’s desire to stay in Seattle. Hollander indicated a Crawford reunion is “absolutely” possible. “Obviously we’ll talk about it after the season and see how it goes. But he wants to be here and there’s definitely a place for him,” Hollander said of Crawford.
Those comments are not surprising for a general manager speaking of a long-tenured and well-liked player. That said, Crawford’s willingness to move positions and positive clubhouse reputation make the third base experiment worth exploring before he reaches free agency. Crawford’s work at short has been poor since the start of 2025, adding up to -9 DRS and -19 Outs Above Average. He has 174 2/3 innings of big league experience at third, all coming with the Phillies from 2017-18. To his credit, Crawford was worth 7 DRS and 3 OAA in that sample.
Of course, that’s a small sample from eight years ago. In contrast, a look at Crawford’s Statcast page gives reason for pessimism. His range is in the first percentile, while his arm strength 77.5 MPH arm strength in 2026 falls in just the 17th percentile. In terms of lateral moves, Crawford has been worth -10 OAA since the start of 2025 when moving toward third base. When moving toward first base, that improves slightly to -4 OAA. Playing third base would result in more lateral moves toward first, which could theoretically help to optimize Crawford’s defense as he plays deeper into his 30s.
Time will tell how Crawford fares defensively at the hot corner. In any case, a reunion might help the team’s offense and overall defensive flexibility. Crawford has put up a 114 wRC+ in 180 plate appearances this year. Despite a .204 batting average, he remains a productive hitter thanks to his ability to draw walks, doing so at least 11.3% of the time in every season since 2022. The M’s also have Brendan Donovan under club control through 2027. Donovan has exclusively played third this year but also has experience at second and in left. Retaining Crawford to play third would allow Donovan to be used as a super-utility player while ensuring plenty of at-bats for those two and Emerson.
Turning to the pitching staff, the Mariners’ rotation is in a bit of a crunch with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Emerson Hancock all performing well. Although Miller had a 5.68 ERA last year and missed the first month and a half of 2026 with an oblique strain, he posted a 3.52 ERA with a strong 17.6% strikeout to walk differential from 2023-24. Going forward, Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times opine that the Mariners’ best path forward is Miller in the rotation and Luis Castillo in the bullpen full-time.
Castillo made his first career appearance as a reliever on Tuesday, allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings against the White Sox while striking out four. He’s been a reliable starter since joining Seattle midway through the 2022 season, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case in 2026. Castillo has a 6.34 ERA in 44 innings as a starter, and that’s not the result of one or two blow-ups. He’s allowed four earned runs or more on four separate occasions, and he’s only once completed six innings. Castillo has had some bad luck, as evidenced by a .346 opponents’ average on balls in play, but he’s also getting groundballs at a career-low 35.2% rate.
Castillo’s four-seamer had a run value of +11 last year, according to Statcast. While it hasn’t been as effective in 2026, the pitch is still getting 1.8 inches of horizontal break above league average. As a reliever, Castillo could take advantage of that movement by throwing the four-seamer more often, without having to face hitters multiple times. Then, if one of the starters goes down with an injury, Castillo could slot back into the rotation and revert to his old pitch mix.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images
Dayán Viciedo Retires
Former White Sox outfielder Dayán Viciedo is retiring, according to a post from Yakyu Cosmopolitan. Viciedo is currently with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He will retire after today’s game.
Viciedo defected from Cuba in March 2008 and was declared a free agent by MLB in November of that year. He signed a four-year, $10MM contract with the White Sox that December. Viciedo spent 2009 at Double-A before progressing to Triple-A and finding himself on the cusp of the Majors. He debuted for the White Sox in June 2010 at the age of 21.
Viciedo only had 106 plate appearances across 38 games that year, but he impressed with a .309 batting average and a 122 wRC+. He regressed in sparse playing time in 2011, posting a 78 wRC+ in 29 games. Viciedo finally earned a starting role in 2012 and posted his best season as a big leaguer. In 543 plate appearances, Viciedo batted .255/.300/.444 with 25 home runs and a 98 wRC+ as the White Sox’ primary left fielder. He also contributed on defense with two Defensive Runs Saved en route to an 0.8 fWAR season.
Viciedo followed that up with a near-identical .265/.304/.426 output in 473 plate appearances in 2013, missing three weeks with a strained left oblique. That was good for another 98 wRC+, although Viciedo’s defense declined slightly (-2 DRS) and tampered his overall value. The 2014 season was a bigger drop-off. Viciedo hit 21 home runs, but his overall line of .231/.281/.405 was good for just a 90 wRC+. In addition, his once serviceable defense had become a liability, with FanGraphs having Viciedo at -15 DRS between the outfield corners.
Chicago avoided arbitration with Viciedo on a $4.4MM deal in January 2015 but designated him for assignment that same month. He split that year with the Blue Jays, Athletics, and White Sox on minor league pacts, posting a 124 wRC+ at Triple-A. However, he did not make it back to the Majors.
That left Viciedo with a career output of .254/.298/.424 and 66 home runs in 483 MLB games. However, his playing career was far from over. Viciedo made the jump to Nippon Professional Baseball by signing a one-year pact with the Chunichi Dragons for the 2016 season. He immediately found success, putting up a .274/.352/.486 line with 22 home runs in 119 games and earning an NPB All-Star nomination. Viciedo followed that up with 18 home runs in 87 games for the Dragons in 2017.
The 2018-19 seasons were the peak of what will end up being an 11-year career in NPB. Viciedo batted .348/.419/.555 with a 165 wRC+ in 2018. His output that year also included 26 home runs and 99 runs batted in, both of which were career highs. Viciedo was recognized as one of the Central League’s Best 9 for his performance that year, earning himself a three-year extension in the process. In 2019, Viciedo had another excellent season, posting a 140 wRC+ and hitting 18 home runs in 143 games.
He wouldn’t quite reach those heights again, but Viciedo remained productive as he played into his 30s. He put up an OPS between .766 and .792 in every season from 2020-22, hitting a total of 48 home runs with 215 RBI in that span. The 2022 season was Viciedo’s last as a productive regular, as he batted 294/.355/.437 with a 136 wRC+ for the Dragons.
From 2023 to the present, Viciedo settled in as a part-time player. He remained with the Dragons from 2023-24 and earned his 1,000th career NPB hit in September 2023. Viciedo was the first foreign-born player in Dragons history to achieve that feat. After only playing 15 games in 2024, Viciedo joined the BayStars in 2025 and put up a 110 wRC+ in 43 games that year. He’s batted .269/.310/.385 thus far in 2026, which will end up as the final season of his career.
Overall, Viciedo ends his NPB career batting .286/.352/.457 with 1,040 hits and 142 home runs in 4,046 plate appearances. His career earnings in MLB totaled $13.3MM, followed by over $11.3MM in Japan. We at MLBTR congratulate Viciedo on a fine playing career and wish him the best in retirement.
Photo courtesy of Jerry Lai, Imagn Images
Diamondbacks Place Lourdes Gurriel Jr. On 10-Day IL, Select Tommy Troy
8:35 pm: Manager Torey Lovullo says that Gurriel’s hamstring injury is minor, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The hope is he’ll be back from the IL as soon as he’s eligible.
5:59 pm: The Diamondbacks are placing Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, as reported by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. The club is also selecting the contract of prospect Tommy Troy. Arizona’s 40-man roster was at 39, so no corresponding move is needed for Troy.
Gurriel, 32, is in the midst of his worst big-league season. He had a delayed start while finishing his recovery from right ACL surgery. Since debuting on April 18th, Gurriel has a line of .228/.284/.304 with a single home run. That’s good for just a 66 wRC+, indicating Gurriel is 34% worse than the average hitter. Granted, he’s only made 102 plate appearances, but Gurriel showed diminished offense last year as well. He had a 95 wRC+ in 129 games while posting an 87.8 MPH average exit velocity, down from 88.4 MPH in 2024. This year, Gurriel’s exit velo is sitting at 87.5 MPH.
Arizona has a 99 wRC+ as a team, which speaks to its top-heavy offense. Corbin Carroll (161 wRC+), Ildemaro Vargas (136), and Nolan Arenado (132) are all hitting very well. Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte are right around league average. In contrast, Gurriel has been one of the team’s worst regulars this year, and since he’s not a good defender, he’s not doing enough to make up for the lack of hitting. Gurriel’s return timeline depends on the severity of the hamstring strain, which could be made clearer in the coming days.
In the meantime, Arizona’s offense could be jolted by Troy, who will be making his major league debut when he gets into a game. Troy was the club’s first-round draft pick in 2023 and rates as their No. 4 prospect according to MLB.com. He reached Triple-A last year at the age of 23 and held his own, batting .295/.381/.429 in 182 plate appearances. Troy has improved to .307/.397/.449 in 205 plate appearances this year, good for a 109 wRC+. His strikeout rate has jumped back to 24.4% after sitting at 16.9% in 2025, but otherwise, there’s plenty to like in Troy’s profile.
Troy came up as a middle infielder but has played 219 innings in the outfield this year, compared to 162 at the keystone. That shift is a testament to Troy’s speed, which is seen as his best tool and allowed him to steal 40 bases from 2024-25. The presence of Perdomo and Marte on the big league roster blocks Troy from his natural positions, so his long-term future with Arizona could be in the outfield. Indeed, this promotion could be seen as a trial run of Troy’s outfield defense while Gurriel is on the IL.
Whether Troy sticks in the Majors this time around also depends on his hitting. Despite Gurriel’s poor performance this year, he has enough of a track record as an average hitter to slide back into left when he returns. Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa are both on the roster as backup outfielders, though neither has shown much with the bat in the Majors. That said, Barrosa is out of options whereas Tawa has two option years remaining. If Troy hits enough to stick around, he has the defensive experience to serve as a utility man, with Tawa potentially being optioned in his place.
Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Notes: Scherzer, Bieber, Rotation Depth
41-year-old Max Scherzer has been on the 15-day injured list for about a month with a combination of right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. The five starts he made for the Blue Jays before landing on the IL were a mixed bag. Scherzer allowed one earned run in six innings in his season debut on March 31st, then two earned runs in another six innings on April 18th. However, Scherzer failed to complete three innings in his other three starts, be it due to injury or ineffectiveness.
Despite his lackluster results this year, Scherzer will be a key piece of rotation depth when he returns from the IL. Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet reports that Scherzer threw around 30 pitches in a bullpen session yesterday. The Jays are considering another bullpen or facing live hitters as the next step, followed by a rehab assignment. Per the team’s injury tracker at MLB.com, Scherzer is in line to return in early- to mid-June. A return on the later side might be realistic if the veteran needs three or four rehab starts.
The depleted state of Toronto’s rotation depth is well-known at this point. Shane Bieber has been on the IL since late March with right elbow inflammation. Cody Ponce‘s return stateside lasted one start before an ACL sprain put him out until next year. More recently, Eric Lauer was traded to the Dodgers and José Berríos underwent Tommy John surgery, putting him out until midway through next year. The fact that Toronto is giving starts to Patrick Corbin, who had a 5.47 ERA from 2021-25, speaks to the Blue Jays’ need for rotation depth.
None of that takes away from the rotation’s performance overall. The group’s 3.86 ERA is ninth-best in the Majors, while their 4.9 fWAR ranks sixth-best. Dylan Cease (2.0 fWAR) and Kevin Gausman (1.8) are in the Top 10 of qualified starters. Trey Yesavage has a 1.07 ERA in five starts since returning from injury and has not yet allowed a home run. Rather, it’s the back of the rotation that needs reinforcement.
Spencer Miles was a Rule 5 pick this offseason. While he has a 2.17 ERA in 14 appearances, there’s inherent risk in anybody with such little minor league experience (14 2/3 innings from 2022-24) and two major injuries (a back injury and Tommy John surgery). Miles has also made just one start in the Majors and has maxed out at 4 1/3 innings and 63 pitches in any appearance.
As for Corbin, he has a 3.86 ERA in nine starts including today. However, there’s little reason to believe that will be sustained. Corbin has been a below-average pitcher by ERA- in every season since 2020. Excluding his little-used slow curveball, his velocity is down across the board compared to 2025. Meanwhile, opponents’ average exit velocity against Corbin has held constant, and he’s had a 4.2% uptick in hard contact rate and a 6.37 expected ERA thus far.
Scherzer comes with age and injury risks, though it’s hard to argue that someone with his track record and postseason experience won’t at least be a viable depth starter. Bieber is a bit further off from returning, but he’s perhaps even more valuable to the Jays than Scherzer. Bieber had a 3.57 ERA in 40 1/3 innings last year after returning from Tommy John surgery. Although he allowed more home runs than usual, Bieber showed his signature control by walking just 4.4% of hitters. He also induced groundballs at an above-average 48.2% rate, slightly above his career number of 46.4%.
According to a separate post from Zwelling, Bieber will begin a rehab assignment on Monday. He’ll aim for two innings in the Complex League, then progress to three innings in his next outing. Toronto’s injury report has Bieber expected back in late June, which suggests he’s in for a longer rehab assignment than Scherzer. That could mean Bieber only pitches half a season in the Majors, but that would still be Bieber’s largest sample size since 2023, when he made 21 starts for the Guardians.
If everyone were healthy, Cease, Yesavage, and Gausman would occupy the first three rotation spots. They could be followed by Bieber and Scherzer, with Miles continuing as a fireman out of the ‘pen and Corbin as a long reliever. Further injuries could change that picture, of course, but the return of the Jays’ depth starters will go a long way to ensuring they stay in the playoff hunt as the season goes on.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images
Chris Taylor Changes Mind On Retirement
TODAY: Taylor has reversed his decision to retire, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Instead, he’s been placed on the minor league injured list with a left forearm fracture, which he sustained on Wednesday at Triple-A Salt Lake.
May 22nd: Two-time World Series winner Chris Taylor is retiring, according to the MiLB.com transaction log. He had been in Triple-A with the Angels.
Taylor played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues. The University of Virginia product was a fifth-round pick by Seattle in 2012. He played a bench role with the Mariners for a couple seasons before being traded to the Dodgers for right-hander Zach Lee in June 2016. That seemingly minor trade would haunt the Mariners, as then-GM Jerry Dipoto would call it “the worst deal I ever made” a year later.
Although Taylor wasn’t much of a factor in his first half-season with the Dodgers, that changed following his recall from Triple-A in April ’17. Taylor hit .288/.354/.496 with 21 home runs and 34 doubles over 140 games. He carried that form into the postseason, posting a near-.900 OPS in his first October action. That included a pair of homers in a five-game NLCS victory over the Cubs, in which Taylor was named the co-series MVP with Justin Turner.
That was the start of a five-year stretch in which Taylor was a key piece of very successful Dodgers teams. He’d hit .258/.340/.450 with 57 homers from 2018-21, earning an All-Star selection in the final of those years. He’d win his first World Series ring when L.A. defeated the Rays in 2020. That was ironically one of the only postseasons in which Taylor didn’t have good numbers, but he’d go on an absolute tear the following October.
Taylor had a signature moment when he hit a walk-off home run against Alex Reyes to knock out the Cardinals in the ’21 Wild Card Game. That was the first of four he’d hit in that postseason despite Dodgers getting bounced by the Braves in the NLCS. Taylor carried that momentum into his first trip to free agency, eventually re-signing on a four-year contract that guaranteed him $60MM.
Although it was an obvious move for the Dodgers at the time, that didn’t work out the way Taylor or the team would’ve hoped. He missed time in each of the first three seasons while his power production dropped. His game always came with a lot of strikeouts, so the declining slugging numbers made him a below-average hitter. He remained a valued clubhouse presence, though, and he’d win another championship when the Dodgers knocked off the Yankees in a five-game World Series in 2024.
Taylor spent the first six weeks of the 2025 season holding a spot on Dave Roberts’ bench. He’d get released in May and joined the Angels on a big league deal. He broke his hand early in his Halos’ tenure and spent most of the year on the injured list. He hit .186 in 58 games between the two clubs, but he’d collect a third ring for his early-season work once the Dodgers repeated as champions. Taylor also achieved the 10-year service milestone last August, albeit while on the injured list.
Taylor re-signed with the Angels but was unable to snag a roster spot out of camp. After 32 games with Triple-A Salt Lake, he evidently decided he was prepared to call it a career. It’s unclear if that’s due to some kind of injury. Taylor played on Wednesday and departed in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch in what’ll seemingly be his final professional plate appearance.
Over more than a decade in the Majors, Taylor tallied 860 hits and 110 home runs. He had a league average .248/.327/.419 batting line overall, though he was an above-average hitter for five straight seasons at his peak. His .247/.351/.441 postseason slash was superior to his regular season mark despite the higher quality of competition.
Taylor was a part of two World Series winners and four NL pennants in L.A., three of them as an everyday player. He also suited up at six positions — all three outfield spots and the infield positions to the left of first base — as a versatile defender. Baseball Reference and FanGraphs credited him with roughly 16-17 Wins Above Replacement, and he racked up nearly $78MM in earnings. Congratulations to Taylor on an excellent run and all the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images.