Chris Taylor will always be remembered for his rise to postseason hero after he was famously traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Dodgers in June 2016 for pitcher Zach Lee. The move revitalized his swing and career as he became a super-utility star and multi-time World Series champion with the Dodgers.
After a decade of playing for the Dodgers including an All-Star season in 2021, Taylor was released by the Dodgers in May 2025 and subsequently signed with the Angels for more playing time.
Taylor
posted an .804 OPS (113 OPS+) with 78 home runs and 50 steals from 2017-2021. He played in 80 postseason games with the Dodgers, winning World Series titles in 2020 and 2024, and he was named co-MVP of the 2017 NLCS after hitting .316 with two home runs versus the Chicago Cubs. We’ll never forget Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS when Taylor made a miraculous catch in left center field to preserve the slim one-run lead and eventually help push the Dodgers toward the win.
Taylor became a free agent after the 2021 season and re-signed with the Dodgers on a four-year, $60 million contract the eve of the MLB lockout. Chris Taylor’s performance numbers significantly and consistently declined after his peak 2021 season. Taylor’s strikeout rate increased, and since August 2021, he posted one of the worst contact percentages in baseball.
Taylor’s struggles at the plate continued this season. He lost playing time and ultimately his roster spot due in part to the decline in offense, persistent injuries, and the addition of Tommy Edman and the emergence of speedy Hyeseong Kim in his rookie campaign. Taylor’s release came soon after the Dodgers parted ways with another long-tenured player Austin Barnes who was designated for assignment. Regardless of the sentimentality of Taylor’s tenure in Dodger Blue, the writing was on the wall for a while.
He barely hit over the Mendoza Line in 2024 with a slash line of .202/.298/.300 in 87 games. And as the 2025 season played out, it became evident that Taylor’s role had diminished greatly as the Dodgers assembled a juggernaut of a team dripping with talent and multiple MVPs in the lineup.
CT3 appeared in only 28 games (six starts) for the Dodgers this year, going 7-for-35 with two doubles, two RBIs and 13 strikeouts. He batted .200/.200/.257/.457 with a 37% K% in 35 plate appearances before his release on May 18. Upon parting ways with Taylor, the Dodgers paid most of his remaining $13 million salary plus a $4 million buyout for 2026.
The Angels signed free-agent Taylor to a one-year, $760,000 deal and offered him an opportunity to be their everyday center fielder. Taylor was subsequently doubly sidelined after he broke his left hand for the second time. He returned from the injured list in September but only mustered a .171 batting average with a sole home run and 14 strikeouts in 41 at-bats for the Halos.
2025 particulars
Age: 34
Stats: .186/.256/.301/, 56 wRC+, 0 HR, -0.6 bWAR, -0.4 fWAR between Dodgers and Angels
Postseason: N/A
Salary: $13 million
Game of the year
One of Taylor’s two extra-base hits, both doubles, with the Dodgers this season came on May 5th in Miami. Taylor brought home Mookie Betts with an RBI double to left field in the seventh inning to propel the Dodgers to a 7-4 win over the Marlins.
Roster status
Chris Taylor’s current roster status is free agent after the Angels granted him free agency in November.
