The Los Angeles Dodgers are facing a roster crunch.
The Dodgers, who officially announced the Tanner Scott signing on Thursday and have another reported signing on the way in Kirby Yates, need to clear two 40-man roster spots to make room for these players.
Additionally, the Dodgers are expected to bring back Clayton Kershaw this offseason, and could still make another surprise move before the 2025 season kicks off.
Thus, the Dodgers will need to make moves to clear spots on their 40-man roster in the coming days and potentially weeks.
To sort out this roster crunch, Dodgers on SI’s Valentina Martinez named three potential trade candidates the Dodgers could move this offseason. The third one would be the most interesting.
Martinez thinks the Dodgers could look to move on from utility man Chris Taylor, as, at this point, he’s just taking up a roster spot.
Taylor, an All-Star in 2021, has struggled to regain his form over the last three seasons. As he enters the final year of his four-year, $60 million deal, the Dodgers could look to trade him, clear his roster spot, and move off of at least some of his contract. However, as Martinez points out, the Dodgers will need to make it enticing to another team.
“Taylor is owed $15 million next season, his final year of team control. The Dodgers would certainly have to pay down his salary while also attaching something of value to a team taking on Taylor’s contract,” Martinez wrote.
“While it’s unlikely the Dodgers would trade Taylor, the roster would certainly benefit from such a move.”
In 2024, Taylor had his worst season as a Dodger, slashing .202/.298/.300 with four home runs, 23 RBIs, 76 strikeouts, and an OPS of .598 across 87 games. It was the first year in his entire Dodgers tenure in which he had a negative WAR.
Taylor’s value has been in his versatility, but with utility man Tommy Edman now locked up for the next five years, the Dodgers don’t exactly need Taylor.
Moreover, the Dodgers’ roster would benefit from adding a different utility player in Kiké Hernández, who’s much better than Taylor at this stage of his career.
Trading Taylor won’t be easy, as the team would need to pay down his salary while also likely attaching a prospect to entice a team to eat the money. Still, the roster would be better off without Taylor, despite his incredible past contributions to the organization.
