Former Dodgers fan favorite humbled by Angels' latest Opening Day decision

At this point, it's hard to remember that Chris Taylor was on the Dodgers' roster as recently as May 15 of last year. He wrapped up his Dodgers tenure with a .200 average and .457 OPS before LA let him go, eating what was left on the four-year, $60 million contract he signed with them after the 2021 season.

He didn't go far, taking a major league deal with the Angels, who only had to pay him league minimum with the Dodgers footing the rest of his contract. He continued to struggle, hitting .179 with a .599 OPS in 30 games.

Anaheim re-signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training for 2026, but the Angels have a relatively crowded roster, so he'd have to stand out to make it back to the major leagues.

On Friday, Ken Rosenthal reported that Taylor had opted out of his deal to become a free agent, after being notified by the Angels that he would not be making the Opening Day roster.

Former Dodgers All-Star Chris Taylor becomes a free agent again after being cut by Angels

Taylor was having a pretty decent spring training, hitting .231 with a .798 OPS in 16 games. He might've had a shot to be a backup second baseman, but he was outperformed by fellow minor league signing Adam Frazier, who projects to be the Angels' Opening Day keystone.

It could be argued that Taylor should have gotten a nod over Vaughn Grissom, who's hitting .185 with a .629 OPS in spring, but we run into 40-man roster issues there. Grissom's already got a spot, and Taylor doesn't. Neither have minor league options left, so the Angels went with the far younger option.

Dodgers fans have to wonder if this is when Taylor will call it a career. He clearly preferred to stay in southern California, where he's spent the vast majority of his career, but it seems unlikely that the Dodgers re-sign him to even a minor league deal. The Padres are always an option, but with spring training coming to a close, he'd have to settle for a deal with even fewer guarantees than his contract with the Angels.

Maybe somewhere down the line, a team will be hit with unfortunate injury news and turn to Taylor who, to his credit, can plug in at basically any position on the field. But if this is the end, it's a sad one for a former Dodgers fan favorite.