ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels announced the signing of utility player and longtime Dodger, Chris Taylor, before Monday night’s game against the New York Yankees.
The 12-year veteran has spent the last decade up the freeway with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was a fixture in the Dodgers’ lineup for deep playoff runs. Taylor’s play has declined over the last two seasons, leading to the Dodgers designating him for assignment and releasing him last week.
“(Taylor) brings experience,” manager Ron Washington said. “Something we need in there. He's been through the wars. He's a good piece for those young guys to talk to about how to handle a grind.”
Taylor played in 28 games this year with the Dodgers, but only logged 35 plate appearances and hit just .200 with a lowly .457 OPS.
“I want to perform on the field,” Taylor said. “I want to help this team win ballgames, and I feel like I have a lot to prove to myself. I haven't performed how I feel I'm capable of playing the last couple seasons, and I want to turn that around and just come in consistently, work hard every day, and help the team any way I can on all sides of the ball.”
His versatility in the field is what makes him valuable, as he can virtually play anywhere except catcher. Despite being slotted in at center field for his Angels debut, the Angels will use Taylor wherever he is needed.
“(Taylors’) going to play centerfield,” Washington said. “He's going to play infield. He's going to be everything.”
Longtime teammate of Taylor, Kenley Jansen, had high praise for Taylor. The two were teammates on the Dodgers for six years.
“Gamer,” Jansen said. “Always a gamer, always play hard. For me, my days with the Dodgers. I know any position he plays, centerfield, short, third, second, left, whatever he plays, he can pick it, he can cover. I just want to see this guy back and hit how he used to hit, I know what kind of player he is, and what kind of teammate he is, that he can make a lot of impact for this organization.”
Taylor has a fresh start ahead of him in Anaheim, and he is looking to get back to the player he was before. He attributed his struggles over the last couple of seasons to inconsistencies with his swing.
Chris Taylor talks to the media about joining the #Angels pic.twitter.com/5eWpQJKwN9
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“Honestly, I will always attribute to the swing mechanics, and I've really been struggling with that,” Taylor said. “I think there's a lot that goes into it, but I really haven't had a consistent swing that's allowed me to put the ball in play and move it forward, so that's kind of what I've been focusing on.”
The corresponding move that the Angels made was optioning Kyren Paris to Triple-A Salt Lake City, who has struggled mightily since his blazing hot start of the season. Paris hit a clean .400 with 1.402 OPS in his first 14 games and five home runs as well. In the 30 games that followed, Paris hit a measly .110 with only a homer and struck out in 51% of his plate appearances.
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“(Paris) is young,” Washington said. “He just needs to go get at-bats. He needs to learn how to make the adjustments he has to make.
“But I was very impressed with the way he handled himself when things wasn't going the way he wanted them to go. He came to the ballpark. He showed tremendous work ethic. He was a great teammate. But at 23 years old, he needs to be getting at-bats every day and learning every nuance about the game that it takes, and he can't do it up here.”