Intriguing AL West Team Predicted To Sign Ex-Royals Glover For 2025 Season
The Kansas City Royals have had an awful lot of turnover in the past few seasons.
Royals fans are unlikely to complain about the amount of change their roster has undergone, because most of it has been positive change. After years of fighting to avoid last place in the American League Central, the new Royals core has Kansas City well-positioned to punch its ticket to the playoffs.
However, there were still some intriguing players who made stops in Kansas City during the losing years. One of those players was stellar defensive center fielder Michael A. Taylor, who is still tied for the most recent Royals player to win a Gold Glove.
Taylor left Kansas City in 2023, then left the AL Central in 2024. In 2025, the free-agent-to-be is likely to be on the move yet again.
On Friday, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted that Taylor would be headed to the Los Angeles Angels in 2025, to serve as an insurance policy/defensive replacement for superstar center fielder Mike Trout.
"Michael A. Taylor had a really good 2023 season serving as an insurance policy to the oft-injured Byron Buxton in Minnesota," Reuter said. "And while the 33-year-old has had a down year in Pittsburgh, he could be a nice fit in that same role providing support to Trout in center field."
Royals fans are very familiar with Taylor's defensive prowess. The offensive numbers were never eye-popping during his two seasons in Kansas City, but because of his stellar glove in center field, Taylor proved quite valuable.
Taylor won a Gold Glove in 2021 and compiled 5.2 wins above replacement as a Royal, most of it on defense. He had a .661 OPS/83 OPS+ in his two Royals seasons, which isn't ideal, but many teams will take that from an elite defensive center fielder.
Taylor also showed flashes with the bat in 2023 with the Minnesota Twins, clubbing a career-high 21 home runs. In 2024, though, he has been awful at the plate, posting a .521 OPS in 105 games.
The Royals are in a position moving forward where they don't need to take fliers on struggling veterans, so don't expect to see Taylor back in blue next season. But Kansas City could still be seeing Taylor twice a year if he heads to Los Angeles, and they hope he doesn't come back to bite them.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org