Next month, I’ll begin my usual “Cubs free agent target” series, as well as writing a few articles about potential Cubs trade targets.
For now, I’d like to continue this series that’s been taking a look at 2026 Cubs who are going to be free agents.
Tyrone Taylor came over from the Mets as part of the deal that brought Clay Holmes to Chicago. While Holmes did okay, most of the time, Taylor performed the duties he was asked exactly as expected.
He was brought in to back up all three outfield positions
and to hit against left-handed starters. He did both of those jobs quite well.
In 30 games for the Cubs, Taylor batted .351/.390/.500 (26-for-74) with eight doubles, a home run and three stolen bases in 82 PA. That’s a really good showing. Overall in 2026, Taylor batted .318/.348/.573 (35-for-110) against left-handed pitching with 10 doubles and six home runs. (I was unable to split out how many of the 82 PA for the Cubs were vs. RHP. It wasn’t many, to my recollection.)
These numbers were quite a bit better than Taylor’s career numbers vs. LHP. In several previous seasons, he played a lot more than he did in 2026, when he had 241 PA (341 in 2025, 345 in 2024, 405 in 2022).
This suggests that perhaps Taylor has found a role he’s good at. Not only did he hit well, but he played excellent defense.
On Aug. 5, he started in center field while Pete Crow-Armstrong served as DH. In the fifth, he made this nice running grab that had a 15 percent catch probability [VIDEO].
After the Cubs took a big lead on the Pirates on Sept. 11, Taylor came in for PCA in the fifth and in the eighth, made this nice sliding catch [VIDEO].
And one more, made against the Reds Sept. 19 [VIDEO].
So what the Cubs had was:
- A good platoon hitter
- Who can play solid outfield defense and
- Who runs well
The only drawback is that Taylor isn’t young. He’ll turn 33 in January. He still appears to have all those skills intact and I would think he could be useful for the Cubs for another year or two. Taylor also played for Craig Counsell for five years in Milwaukee, so the Cubs manager is quite familiar with him. (I wouldn’t be surprised if Counsell lobbied for Taylor to be acquired from the Mets.)
It’s really the first time in a while that the Cubs have had a fourth outfielder this good. Mike Tauchman did okay in that role for a while, but Taylor is better defensively. And as a right-handed hitter, he can give PCA a breather in center field every once in a while. PCA played in all 162 games and led MLB with 726 plate appearances. He seemed to be running out of gas at the end of the season.
Taylor made $3.8 million in 2026. He had a very good year as that fourth outfielder. Would you give him a two-year, $8 million deal? I would. Or would it cost a bit more? Still worth it, in my view.
What say you?
