Dodgers: Chris Taylor Understands the Business Side of Baseball, Especially This Offseason

Dodgers star Chris Taylor talked recently about the business side of baseball and seeing his close friends depart for other teams in free agency.

It's been a rough offseason for Dodgers fans, watching fan favorites like Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, Tyler Anderson, and others depart for new homes. But if you think it's been rough for us, imagine being the guys on the team watching their friends depart.

Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor talked with Dodgers Nation recently about that dynamic and how it's affected him this offseason.

“A lot of those guys going all the way back to 2016, 2017, we’ve been teammates and really close friends since, for the last six years. And obviously I would love for those guys to still be playing for the Dodgers, but that’s just the nature of the business. Things happen. And I wish all those guys the best in their new homes. And I think they’re all going to have great years this coming year. And who knows, maybe down the line, they’ll be back in Dodger blue.”

Taylor came to Los Angeles in a 2016 trade with the Mariners, midway through JT's third season in LA. Bellinger came up the next year and unanimously won the National League Rookie of the Year Award the same year CT3 broke out in a big way. Corey Seager left last offseason, and Joc Pederson and Kiké Hernandez departed the year before.

One of the most heartwarming things this offseason, though, has been seeing the relationships between the players continue. Clayton and Ellen Kershaw celebrating the new year with Joc and Kelsey Pederson. JT and Seager going to Hawaii for Taylor's wedding. The friendships don't end just because the teams change.

And, like Taylor said, there's always a chance some of these guys will be back. Pretty much everyone expects JT back in Dodger blue at some point, even if it's after his playing days are over. If Bellinger finds his groove this year with Chicago, it's not crazy to see him re-signing with LA next offseason. Anything can happen in baseball.

But yeah, it's been a rough offseason for reminders that baseball is, in the end, a business.