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Could the Mariners go after a defense first OF in Michael A Taylor in free agency?
The Mariners need outfielders. Is it worth looking at Michael A Taylor, a defensive first outfielder for the short term in free agency this year?
As much as we all want to think the Mariners are going to sign Shohei Ohtani, it might not happen. Yes, I'm still trying to be confident about it, but slightly realistic. After that is when the potential pain starts to creep up. Are we going to go after any of the other top... ten hitters in free agency? Even the top ten outfielders?
The Mariners should stay away from Michael A Taylor in free agency
It's why I think free agents like Michael A Taylor need to be talked about, and serious discussions had to see if it is someone that the Mariners should think about adding to the team for the upcoming season.
Michael A Taylor is a great defender, and it's easily the strongest part of his game. That makes for a fantastic fit on teams with a lot of offense already, but the fit for the Mariners doesn't really make sense. Taylor posted 2+ dWAR seasons in 2021 and 2022, and still was around 1.0 dWAR last season.
However, he just isn't a good hitter outside of the 2022 season, and even that was only an OPS+ of 94 (which makes sense, he is not a power hitter). He doesn't walk that often, leaving to a loq slash line since 2018 that tallies to .236/.293/.378. If the Mariners were in need of a bench outfielder, then Taylor would be a great person to look at. Decent speed, great defender, and would make for a wonderful late inning replacement and off day fill-in.
However, when you already have a handful of young guys pushing for time (Trammell, DeLoach, Marlowe) plus guys like Moore and Haggerty on the bench, there just isn't a lot of room for someone like Taylor on a team that needs offense and already has enough good defenders that they don't need that single track player like Taylor.
If the Mariners needed defense, Taylor would be a good one-year fit. However, we all know that isn't the issue. I hope Taylor can find a home somewhere this year, but the Mariners need to stay away from players like him and go out and get someone who can hit the ball.