Michael A. Taylor
This one hurts, because unlike Gray and Gallo there’s nothing to base Michael A. Taylor’s Spring Training on because he still doesn’t have a team.
After turning in an impressive season as the surprise everyday centerfielder for the Twins, it was looking like Taylor would be able to parlay his success into a nice free agent deal. It’s been an abysmal year for the free agent market as a whole, and Taylor remains unemployed because of it.
He drew some early interest, as the Angels and Mets were both rumored to be eyeing him but nothing ended up happening. It got to the point where Minnesota re-entered the fray as a potential landing spot when the team was looking for right-handed hitting that doubled as insurance for Byron Buxton.
That’s the role Taylor so wonderfully filled last year. The Twins traded for him with the idea of platooning him with Buxton and forming one of the best defensive duos in baseball. After injuries keeps Buxton from being able to play the field, Taylor assumed the starting role and made the most of it.
He set a new career-high for home runs and finished the year with 51 RBI while also making some clutch defensive plays. Taylor might have saved the Twins season with a stellar catch in the AL Wild Card that in any other year might have careened off the wall and flipped the game in Toronto’s favor. Instead, Taylor made the play and Minnesota ended up snapping its miserable 19-year postseason losing streak.
The Twins ended up trading for Manuel Margot to replace Taylor, ending any hope that he’d be back. It’s puzzling that he’s still available, and really no good reason to explain it other than simple bad luck.