In a minor move Tuesday, the White Sox reportedly agreed to terms with outfielder Michael A. Taylor on a one-year-deal worth $1.95 million.
Taylor continues making the rounds in the AL Central. He played for the Kansas City Royals in 2021-22, winning a Gold Glove as a center fielder in 2021. From there, he joined the Minnesota Twins in 2023, where he hit a career-high 21 homers.
Alas, Taylor fell on rough times last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, slumping to a .193/.253/.290 slash line with only five home runs in 113 games.
The 34-year-old is a lifetime .235 batter with 120 career stolen bases. He has speed and can play credible defense in center, where he has played 921 of his 1,001 career games. He has a 10.4 defensive WAR for his career.
You might be thinking, so what? Taylor's just another extra outfielder at the end of his career. And he's probably here to be the center fielder when Luis Robert Jr. gets traded midseason to a contender for prospects.
But here's my thinking: In the short run, does this get weak-armed Andrew Benintendi out of left field and into the designated hitter role?
The Sox infield is very much in flux going into spring training, but I think I know who the five rostered outfielders are going to be: Robert, Benintendi, Taylor, Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater.
The working presumption has been that Tauchman and Slater will platoon in right field, with Benintendi in left and Robert in center.
My proposal is Slater in left, Robert in center, Tauchman in right and Benintendi at DH. Taylor is your late-inning defensive replacement. Or, sometimes, Taylor plays center while Robert takes some DH plate appearances to hopefully stay healthy.
One of the many problems the Sox had last season: Opponents took extra bases at will on Benintendi's weak arm in left. Heck, they were tagging up and advancing on medium-deep flyouts. That can't continue.
If you think putting a credible defense on the field can yield a few more wins, and I do, the Sox need to consider making this change.
One might argue that Benintendi's bat is too weak to hold down the DH spot. That's fair, and if this were a contending team, I'd agree.
But, it's worth noting that Benintendi recovered enough from a slow start in 2024 to total 20 homers, with 12 of those coming after Aug. 1. He had a .952 OPS in August and a .807 OPS in September. Really, if Benintendi could pull his OPS up around .750 for a season, that would be fine for a DH on a rebuilding team.
Why not give it a try?
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