The Kansas City Royals announced on Wednesday that they had agreed to a two-year extension with outfielder Michael A. Taylor. The deal will pay Taylor $9 million over the course of the 2022-23 seasons, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Taylor, 30, joined the Royals over the offseason after being non-tendered by the Washington Nationals. In 137 games this season, he’s hit .244/.298/.359 (77 OPS+) with 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases (on 20 attempts). As has often been the case throughout his career, he was a superior hitter when he batted with the platoon advantage. Whereas Taylor hit .227/.283/.333 against righties this year, he batted .286/.338/.421 versus southpaws.
Taylor, long regarded as a plus defender, has lived up to his reputation while patrolling Kauffman Stadium’s spacious outfield. For example, he has graded in the 99th percentile in Outs Above Average, or Statcast’s defensive metric. (Baseball Reference’s defensive metric of choice, meanwhile, has deemed him to be worth 20 runs this season.)
The Royals entered Wednesday with a 72-85 record on the season, putting them in fourth place in the American League Central. Even so, the Royals figure to become a trendy pick to make a leap heading into next spring. That’s in part because of how team president Dayton Moore operates — always, seemingly, pushing forward rather than tanking for draft position — and in part because of the young talent the organization has nearing arrival in Kansas City.
To wit, the Royals figure to slot several rookies into their starting lineup over the course of the 2022 season, including shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., first baseman Nick Pratto, and catcher MJ Melendez, who has homered 41 times this season while splitting time between Double- and Triple-A.
Taylor, then, will serve as a stabilizing veteran presence in addition to being a potential Gold Glove winner in center.
