Halos Today

Angels Sign Former Dodgers All-Star

J.P. Hoornstra

St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter J.D. Martinez (28) is congratulated by shortstop Chris Taylor (3) after he scores a run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning at Tropicana Field in a May 2023 game.
St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter J.D. Martinez (28) is congratulated by shortstop Chris Taylor (3) after he scores a run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning at Tropicana Field in a May 2023 game. / Kim Klement-Imagn Images
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The Angels have signed utility player Chris Taylor to a major league contract, the team announced.

Taylor is in the Angels' starting lineup in center field Monday against the New York Yankees. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who was first to report the news Monday on Twitter/X.

Taylor, 34, was released May 18 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he made the 2021 National League All-Star team and won two World Series titles.

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Taylor is in the final year of a four-year, $60 million contract he signed with the Dodgers before the 2022 season. By releasing him, the Dodgers absorbed the remaining $13.3 million guaranteed money on his contract; the Angels will only owe Taylor a pro-rated version of the major league minimum salary this season.

Taylor takes the roster spot of Kyren Paris, who had struggled to hit since taking over for Jo Adell in center field. He was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake after Sunday's game. Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group was the first to report Paris' demotion.

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Taylor is a career .250/.328/.421 hitter in parts of 12 major league seasons — three with the Seattle Mariners (2014-16) and the last 10 with the Dodgers (2016-25).

Now he heads back to the American League West on the Dodgers' dime, hoping to revitalize his career.

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Even if his bat does not return to the form that allowed him to slash .265/.343/.461 from 2017-21, Taylor offers the Angels more defensive versatility than arguably anyone on their roster.

This season, Taylor has seen time at all three outfield positions as well as second base. In the past, he's played shortstop and third base as well.

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But Taylor's bat was not enough to overcome his versatile glove, at least for the defending World Series champions. He was a below-replacement level player in 87 games last year, and was worth -0.5 bWAR in 28 games this season.

If all goes well, Taylor will get a chance to face his former team when the Dodgers and Angels play each other in a three-game series at Angel Stadium from August 11-13.

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To persist that long on the Angels' active roster, he'll have to boost the production of the bottom of the lineup. Their 7-9 hitters (through Sunday) have a league-worst .195 batting average and 165 strikeouts.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.

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J.P. Hoornstra
J.P. HOORNSTRA

J.P. Hoornstra is an On SI Contributor. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.

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