GLENDALE, Ariz. – Defense is a constant. Offense can vary like the winds in Chicago.
New White Sox center fielder Michael A. Taylor will bring his Gold Glove and Fielding Bible pedigree glove work to the White Sox, that you can count on.
His bat?
We’ll have to wait and see after the 33-year old batted .193/.253/.290 with five homers for the Pirates last season after signing a one-year, $4 million deal. He earned that by hitting a career high 21 homers and posting a .220/.278/.442 hitting line with the Twins in 2023.
“I would say last year was a failed experiment,” Taylor told the Sun-Times Friday at Camelback Ranch, two days after signing a one-year, $1.95 million deal with the Sox. “Coming off an above average year for me in 2023, I was looking to improve even more and I tried a few things that didn’t really work out for me, and I was fighting an uphill battle from there.”
Looking to build on 2023, Taylor altered his approach looking for even more success, but probably shouldn’t have changed a thing, he said.
“Hindsight is 20/20,” he said. “I could have made those adjustments and maybe taken off but it didn’t work out that way. That’s part of the game. When you look to make improvements there’s that risk, but I’m OK with that.”
So it will be back to the old foundation in 2025. The Sox like Taylor’s chances of getting back to his better form, and they like his respected presence in the clubhouse, which is valued in a room full of young players. He also provides protection for center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and versatility in the outfield.
“Excited about Michael,” manager Will Venable said. “The defensive versatility, really like the defender. We know he can hit lefties [.250/.305/.427 career hitting line, .732 OPS]. He gives us an opportunity to match some guys up and late in games give us some real good defense to end games.”
Taylor said he hasn’t put much thought into what his role might be. His focus being ready for anything.
“And the thing with that is, they can sit me down and tell me my role and it could change the next day,” he said. “So I just have to be ready for anything.”
Taylor’s addition seems connected to Robert, the team’s big-name star who is the subject of trade conversations this spring. He’d provide defense should Robert leave, but if Robert stays, he’s a more than worthy stand-in should Robert be used at DH or given a day off to keep his legs fresh.
Robert played in 56 of 60 games as a Gold Glove and Rookie of the Year runnerup in the abbreviated 2020 season, then played 68, 98, 145 and 100 games the next four seasons, injuries limiting him in all but one.
A self-described “failed shortstop” who switched to the outfield at 19 after his first full season in the minors, Taylor “really dedicated myself to being the best outfielder I could be, trying to focus on the details.”
“I learned to love it,” he said. “There was a little resistance early on, being so young and a little hard-headed but once I accepted it and embraced it, I really learned to appreciate the position.”
And he believes he can still play it as well as ever, even though his 20-something legs are approaching their mid-30s.
“One of the things I really focus on is my reads, my routes and my jumps,” he said. “Those things can stay sharp at any age. My speed has really been consistent, so I have all the ingredients to go out there and perform at a high level.”
After getting drafted by the Nationals in the sixth round out of high school and playing his first seven seasons in the majors in Washington, Taylor is on his fourth team in four years.
“It feels good here,” he said.
“I like what the Sox are trying to do, building a winning team and a winning culture. I enjoy being part of something like that. That’s the way to play baseball and build an organization.”