Chris Taylor signs with the exact new team Dodgers fans should've suspected

There were never going to be many, if any, takers on Chris Taylor after he was released from the Dodgers last week. He left LA with a .200 batting average and .457 OPS and zero walks to 13 strikeouts on the heels of a .202 average and .598 OPS in 2024. The Dodgers had to let him go if they wanted to keep Hyeseong Kim on the roster when Tommy Edman returned from the IL — out with the old, in with the new.

Taylor is still owed $15 million by the Dodgers this year, which left him free to take a league minimum deal with anyone who would have him. He was loosely linked to the Padres, which would've been a nightmare for longtime CT3 Dodgers stans, or maybe his old Mariners squad would have him back?

Ken Rosenthal reported on Monday afternoon that he was ending up back in the AL West. Not with the Mariners, but with a team that's only slightly less hated by Dodgers fans than the Padres; the .481 (through May 25) crosstown rival Angels were willing to take a flier on him.

Rosenthal reported that not only had he signed with them, he'd be starting in center field on Monday night when the Angels welcome the Yankees to Anaheim.

Chris Taylor has a new home with the crosstown rival Angels after 10 seasons as a Dodger

The Angels have primarily employed Kyren Paris in center field as of late, but he's batting .190. Matthew Lugo has started to platoon there as well and is actually batting pretty well through his first 13 games, but he's also a rookie with just 13 major league games under his belt.

It's pretty clear what the Angels saw in Taylor: his defensive versatility. That's probably why the Dodgers kept him on long past his expiration date (apart from the service time element), and how they tried to convince fans that he would contribute to the team despite an awful 2024.

The Angels will learn their lesson soon enough. Although it'll be strange for Dodgers fans to see such a longtime Dodger in the little brother's colors, it makes sense that he'd want to keep himself and his family in LA, where he's been since 2017, and the Angels (as always) aren't contenders, so there's basically zero reason to worry that Taylor will somehow make himself a Dodgers postseason enemy.

And, who knows? Maybe a change of scenery will do him some good. He's still in the game and still making a sweet chunk of change at the Dodgers' expense, so this worked out decently for him.