The Los Angeles Dodgers have been typically imperious in the offseason, and recently changed the entire idea of AAV by signing Kyle Tucker to their outfield for a deal that will pay more than $60 million annually. Tucker will slot immediately into right field, pushing last year’s first-choice right fielder Teoscar Hernandez over to left. And until last year, that left field spot was regularly occupied by long-term Dodger and utility star, Chris Taylor.
Until May of last year, Taylor had been with the Dodgers for nine years, and become a mainstay in the line-up somewhere. He was however unable to get any significant playing time to begin last season, recording only 35 plate appearances in 28 games, before being designated for assignment. At age 35, it would follow that retirement could be an option. But for now at least, Taylor says not.
Speaking with David Vassegh on the Dodger Talk podcast, Taylor has publicly stated his intention to continue playing professional baseball, seeking a thirteenth Major League Baseball season. Although he continued to struggle in the second half of the 2025 season – which he spent with the Los Angeles Angels – the man known affectionately as CT3 nevertheless seeks at least one more go-around, hoping that his experience and defensive versatility will get him the opportunity.
Dodgers’ Star Utility Guy
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 June Amateur Draft by the Seattle Mariners out of the University of Virginia, Taylor made his MLB debut for the Mariners in July 2014, and would play 84 games in the big leagues with them before doing the bulk of his work as a Dodger. Over his twelve big league seasons to date, he has appeared in over 1,000 regular-season games, accumulated 860 hits, 110 home runs, 443 RBIs and 516 runs scored, all while maintaining a solid .248/.327/.416 line at the plate. He has also contributed 81 stolen bases despite being known primarily as a utility player rather than a base-stealing specialist; that defensive utility meant that for all but the last of those nine Dodgers seasons, there was always somewhere he could play.
Taylor has logged big league innings at all defensive positions except first base and catcher, with more than 100 starts at each of second base, shortstop, center field and left field, and he was further regularly used in late-game and situational scenarios. This positional flexibility was the crux of his extended major league career, at a time when league-wide roster construction – and the Dodgers in particular – increasingly favor multi-positional defensive players. Taylor could play anywhere, and could fit in around any line-up.
During his peak years with the Dodgers, Taylor delivered some of his most productive seasons. From 2017 through 2021, he had four excellent years at the plate, posting an OPS above .800 and an OPS+ over 110, performing significantly better than league average. Accordingly, he was selected as an All-Star in 2021, a season he finished with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs, marking the highest single-season offensive output of his career while also starting at all six spots.
High Highs And Low Lows
Taylor’s postseason résumé underscores his value in high-leverage situations. He was not around for the Dodgers’s 2025 World Series run, but he did win two in his time with the team, and contributed meaningfully along the way. He appeared in 80 playoff games with the Dodgers, and in the 2017 National League Championship Series was named co-Most Valuable Player after hitting .316 with two home runs versus the Chicago Cubs, including a three-home-run game in an elimination contest – the first such performance in MLB history.
Despite this, Taylor’s performance declined in the latter stages of his tenure with the Dodgers. In the 2024 season, he appeared in 87 games, but hit only .202 with an OPS of .598, his lowest full-season average since his Mariners days, and his strikeout rate rose considerably. Then, as above, in the opening months of the 2025 season, Taylor’s role diminished significantly; he recorded just a .200 batting average and .457 OPS before being released by the Dodgers in May.
Shortly after his release, the Angels signed Taylor for the remainder of the 2025 season, but it got little better. In limited action with the Angels, he finished with a .179 with two home runs in 90 at-bats batting average, and also suffered a broken left hand after being hit by a pitch, which curtailed his playing time and further limited his opportunity to show there was still a spark in the fire worth throwing a log on.
Nevertheless, Taylor’s career of standout contributions at key moments, and from nigh-on all positions, will surely draw at least an invite to spring training somewhere. And from there, if he can avoid any more broken hands, maybe he can play his way back in once again.
Former Dodgers Mainstay Wants to Make a Comeback