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If there's a glaring weak link on the Dodgers' projected 2025 roster, it's undoubtedly Chris Taylor. Taylor, once a 4.0+ fWAR player, has fallen far from grace since his lone All-Star season in 2021. He was moved out of a full-time role in 2022, but played under 100 games for the first time since 2016 (not including the COVID season) in 2024 as he dealt with a couple different injuries and the Dodgers benched him more often.
He's batted .222 with a .684 OPS and a 32.9% strikeout rate over the last three seasons. In spring training so far, he's started 3-for-11 with six strikeouts in his first four games. Fans were calling for his head last year throughout his struggles, but the Dodgers kept him on anyway and he managed to weather multiple roster crunches to keep his spot on the bench.
This has to be about money in some capacity. The Dodgers owe him $13 million this year and might be trying to help him toward an MLB service time benchmark. If the latter is true, that's a generous thing for the organization to do, but it also means keeping Taylor on the roster and giving him playing time.
Dodger Insider, the Dodgers' official blog, posted a profile on Taylor a few days after games had started. It was a puff piece by all accounts, highlighting his defensive capabilities (went as far as to call them a "superpower"). If they were trying to get fans on their side, then they've still got a long way to go.
'He’s won a lot of big games for the Dodgers in the biggest of moments.'
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) February 21, 2025
The Dodgers look to tap into Chris Taylor's superpowers in 2025.https://t.co/4M6CL1FLhC
Dodgers' Chris Taylor propaganda isn't going to convince anyone he'll be good in 2025
Even Dave Roberts admitted to reporters early in camp that he didn't know what Taylor's role on the 2025 roster looked like. If he does make it (which, because of the money, he probably will), it'll undeniably be as a second/third base option behind Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernández, and Max Muncy. The days of Taylor being a starter are long over.
It's also hard to sell fans on defensive versatility as a superpower when Rojas, Hernández, and Tommy Edman are all better defensive players, and Hernández and Edman are both true utility players who can hop all over the field.
Nothing the Dodgers say could sell fans on Taylor — that's all up to him. Four games isn't a lot to go off of, sure, but it's not exactly a great foot to start off on.