The White Sox and outfielder Michael A. Taylor are in settlement on a deal, reviews Robert Murray of FanSided. The ALIGND Sports activities Company shopper will get a $1.95MM assure on a one-year take care of efficiency bonuses, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Sox have a full 40-man roster and might want to open a spot.
Taylor, 34 in March, has lengthy been probably the greatest defensive heart fielders within the recreation. From 2015 to 2024, he has 78 Defensive Runs Saved in heart. That tally places him third within the majors for that stretch, although the 2 guys forward of him at the moment are retired: Kevin Kiermaier and Lorenzo Cain. His 62 Outs Above Common on the place put him sixth within the league.
Offensively, he’s been extra mercurial. He strikes out so much and doesn’t take many walks. He does have sufficient pop in his bat to often overcome these deficiencies considerably, with 4 seasons of double-digit homer tallies, although he additionally stays susceptible to deep troughs in his manufacturing.
The final two seasons spotlight the up-and-down nature of his work on the plate. With the Twins in 2023, he struck out 33.5% of the time and solely walked at a 6.7% clip however did park the ball over the fence 21 occasions. That led to a .220/.278/.442 batting line and 95 wRC+. Which means he was nonetheless 5% beneath league common on the entire, however because of his protection and 13 stolen bases, FanGraphs thought-about him to be value two wins above substitute.
He signed a one-year, $4MM take care of the Pirates in 2024 and issues went downhill. His strikeout and stroll charges held pretty regular at 35% and seven.7% respectively, however he hit solely 5 residence runs and produced a dismal line of .193/.253/.290.
After final 12 months’s traditionally poor season, the White Sox have been giving offers to varied veteran gamers to pad out their inexperienced roster. That features including Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater to an outfield that already included Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi. Elsewhere on the roster, they’ve signed Josh Rojas, Martin Perez and Bryse Wilson.
Going into the season, Robert would be the on a regular basis heart fielder, at the very least till a commerce comes collectively. He had a wonderful season in 2023 however scuffled by means of an injury-marred 2024. All reporting from this winter has indicated the Sox have set a excessive worth on Robert. Versus promoting low, they’d somewhat let him show his well being and effectiveness within the early elements of 2025 earlier than hopefully putting a deal on the proper time.
They might additionally certainly like to flip Benintendi and the three years left on his deal, although he’s coming off two tough seasons. He did have a robust second half in 2024, so maybe there’s some hope of him getting again on monitor. Like Robert, the membership ought to run him on the market for normal enjoying time within the hopes that he performs properly and builds some commerce worth.
Tauchman and Slater might maybe kind a platoon in one other nook. Slater hits right-handed and has been higher towards lefties in his profession. Tauchman has pretty impartial splits however does hit left-handed.
Taylor appears prone to be on the bench in a fourth outfielder function, although he does give the membership a little bit of insurance coverage within the occasion Robert will get bitten by the damage bug once more. Or if some membership meets their lofty asking worth and will get a commerce over the road. Till that occurs, he can function a defensive substitute or pinch runner every so often. The membership might additionally put Robert within the designated hitter slot every so often as a method of easing his workload, placing Taylor in heart.
Oscar Colás and Dominic Fletcher are additionally on the roster however they’ve choices and might be in Triple-A till they both earn their method into larger roles or accidents opening up alternatives. Gamers like Corey Julks and Zach DeLoach have been got rid of the roster this winter however are nonetheless round in non-roster roles.
