San Francisco Giants Center Field Trade Options: Michael A. Taylor

The San Francisco Giants need to upgrade center field defensively, and there are plenty of options to do so this offseason, including Michael A. Taylor.

The San Francisco Giants recognize the need to put together a better defensive outfield, particularly in center field, and they recognize that, with their already bloated payroll, the trade market is the best way to do that. So with plenty of time to kill this offseason, there are plenty of options to look at as the Giants attempt to get better. The second center fielder profiled here is the Washington Nationals’ Michael Taylor.

Taylor was a sixth-round pick by the Nationals, and was rated a top-100 prospect before the 2015 season by MLB.com, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus. He had struggled to get consistent playing time with Washington, but the 26-year-old had a strong season in 2017 filling in as the team’s center fielder.

In 118 games, he set career highs in doubles (23), triples (three), home runs (19), runs scored (55), stolen bases (17), and in all three triple-slash categories (.271/.320/.486). He also put up personal bests in WAR (3.1) and wRC+ (105) while playing for a high-powered Washington offense. In the five-game NLDS against the Chicago Cubs, Taylor slashed .333/.444/.733 with two home runs and eight RBI.

Defensively, Taylor had a great year in 2017. His nine defensive runs saved tied him for seventh among big league center fielders, and his 16.9 UZR/150 led all qualified big league center fielders. He brings a strong, accurate arm with him, as he racked up eight outfield assists, all coming from center field. One of his assists came against the Giants on August 13th, on a play at the plate that concussed Joe Panik in a one-in-a-million type occurrence.

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On the downside, Taylor has had his fair share of problems making contact. In 2017, he struck out in 31.7 percent of his plate appearances, the 10th-highest mark in baseball among players who totaled at least 400 plate appearances. That is an anomaly, either, as he owns a 31.8 percent strikeout rate in four seasons and 25.3 percent in the minor leagues.

He also doesn’t walk a whole lot, either. In 2017, he walked only 6.7 percent of the time, right in line with his career mark of 6.6 percent. That’s about two percent lower than league average.

Also, like Aaron Hicks (the first potential trade target profiled), Taylor doesn’t come with a great offensive track record in the big leagues. Before a strong showing in 2017, he owned a career .228/.281/.363 slash-line with a 72 wRC+, though his playing time wasn’t always consistent during that stretch.

The Nationals have a strong contingent of potential center fielders, as Taylor is joined by Adam Eaton and Victor Robles in the group. Eaton was supposed to be the everyday center fielder in 2017, but suffered a torn ACL, torn meniscus, and sprained ankle in April after stumbling at first base, and missed the rest of the season. Robles is one of baseball’s best prospects, currently sitting second on MLB Pipeline’s Top-100, and was eighth on Baseball America’s midseason top-100 list.

On the other hand, there are plenty of questions about that group. Eaton was limited to 23 games in 2017, and there are always concerns about players coming off serious injuries like he is. Robles is one of the game’s top prospects, but hasn’t even reached legal drinking age yet and has only 13 major league games under his belt. The Nationals could want to keep Taylor until Eaton proves he is ready to play at a high level again, or Robles proves he is ready to play everyday in the big leagues.

Taylor is arbitration eligible this offseason (MLB Trade Rumors has Taylor projected to get $2.3 million in arbitration this year), and has two years of eligibility left beyond this year, so if the Giants were to pull off this trade, they have him under team control for three seasons. Taylor has played the corner outfield spots as well, but not with much regularity (39 games in left field, 15 games in right field). If need be, he should have plenty of range to cover right field and triple’s alley in AT&T Park.

Next: Giants Center Field Trade Options: Hicks

Though the Nats may not be keen on offloading Taylor, they could also try to free up playing time for other outfielders by sending him to another team. If that happens, the Giants could take their chances with him as their new center fielder.

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