Inside The Dodgers

Recently Released Dodgers Veteran Signs With SoCal Rivals

J.P. Hoornstra|
Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes (15) celebrates with designated hitter Chris Taylor (3) after scoring in the fifth inning as Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) reacts at Dodger Stadium in May 2022.
Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes (15) celebrates with designated hitter Chris Taylor (3) after scoring in the fifth inning as Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) reacts at Dodger Stadium in May 2022. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Dodgers

Longtime Dodgers utility player Chris Taylor, who was released May 18, has signed a major league contract with the Angels.

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

The Dodgers still owe Taylor $13.3 million remaining on the four-year contract he signed in 2022. The Angels will only owe Taylor the prorated portion of the major league minimum salary ($760,000) for as long as he is on their roster this season.

Taylor had a 47 OPS+ when he was released May 18. His .200/.200/.257 batting line was pacing for new lows in every category since he joined the Dodgers in a 2016 trade for pitcher Zach Lee.

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But his bat speed was effectively unchanged (70.5 mph via Statcast, up from 70.0 mph in 2024), making his release somewhat of a surprise.

With the Angels, Taylor will join a team that has struggled to get production from the bottom of its lineup, particularly with former MVP Mike Trout making his annual trip to the injured list. Their 7-9 hitters (through Sunday) have a league-worst .195 batting average and 165 strikeouts.

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Taylor takes the roster spot of rookie Kyren Paris, who had struggled to hit since taking over for Jo Adell in center field.

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

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

The Dodgers and Angels play each other once more this season, a three-game series at Angel Stadium from August 11-13.

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For Taylor to persist on the Angels' roster into the waning months of the season, he will need to do more than provide the versatile glove off the bench that he'd given the Dodgers the last two seasons.

Taylor was a below-replacement level player in 87 games last year, and was worth -0.5 bWAR in 28 games this season. He has seen time at all three outfield positions and second base this season.

Taylor was the Dodgers' longest-tenured position player at the time he was released. He had earned that title only four days earlier, when the Dodgers designated catcher Austin Barnes for assignment.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers 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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