Angels quickly learning the Chris Taylor reality that the Dodgers already knew

The Los Angeles Dodgers surprisingly parted ways with veterans Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor last month, and while it bummed out the players and fans they were completely defensible moves. The Dodgers play in an absolute juggernaut of a division, and require every single player on their roster to be clicking in order to stay in the race -- the players on their roster who spend the majority of the time on the bench need to be ready to go on any given day. Taylor was not, and was subsequently let go despite still being owed ~$9 million the rest of the season.

Angels quickly learning the Chris Taylor reality that the Dodgers already knew

Chris Taylor was signed to a minimum contract, and has certainly not outplayed his Angels salary. He has twice as many strikeouts as hits so far -- he has K'd eight times and has four hits (two singles and two double). Those eight strikeouts occurred in his first 19 plate appearances, which was good for an astronomical 42% K% (it now stands at 36%). Taylor is slashing .190/.227/.286/.513, which are Kevin Newman and Tim Anderson-esque numbers. Taylor's OBP is lower than any other Angels hitter this season, minus Scott Kingery, Newman Davis, Nicky Lopez and one game of Niko Kavadas.

Taylor has helped fortify the Angels' defense, he has been the team's third most valuable defender per FanGraphs. However, he has essentially been a slightly more hyped version of Tim Anderson and Kevin Newman in that he is sure-handed in the field and a complete zero at the plate. There is still time for him to turn it around, as it's been a small sample size, but history will show that it will not get that much better.

This season with the Dodgers, Taylor slashed .200/.200/.257/.457 with a 37% K% in 35 plate appearances before his release. During the Dodgers' World Series run last year, the utility man started in 3 of their 13 playoff games and recorded 3 hits (all singles). He did not start in a single World Series game. During the regular season, he slashed .202/.298/.300/.598. Obviously, the writing was on the wall given how talented the Dodgers' farm system is and how over-the-hill Taylor had become. He is a slap-hitter who can barely crack a .200 batting average these days.

Taylor and Jo Adell have been splitting time in centerfield, and he's been switching off at second base with Luis Rengifo and Scott Kingery (Rengifo and Kevin Newman have been playing more third base too since Yoán Moncada went to the IL). With the way things are going, Ron Washington might need to back off of his playing time. Especially if Christian Moore is deemed ready to go at second base and Adell keeps swinging it/tracking down balls well in center. Taylor's just lost all of his luster, which comes as no surprise to the Dodgers organization.

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