Chris Taylor Activated, Jason Heyward Designated For Assignment
The Los Angeles Dodgers activated infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor (groin) from the 10-day injured list on Thursday and designated outfielder Jason Heyward for assignment in a corresponding move. Taylor will return to the Dodgers after landing on the shelf in late July with a strained left groin. Both Taylor and Heyward have been pretty dreadful offensively in 2024, but the 33-year-old Taylor at least offers versatility at other positions on the infield. Taylor will return to a .167/.277/.265 slash line with an abysmal .542 OPS, three homers, 15 RBI and three steals. Continue to ignore him in mixed fantasy leagues. Heyward, meanwhile, loses his 40-man roster spot after already seeing his playing time dwindle in right field after Mookie Betts returned from a fractured hand. The 35-year-old has hit .208 (36-for-173) for the Blue this year with six homers, 28 RBI and four steals.
Dodgers Officially Place Chris Taylor On Injured List
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially placed infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor (groin) on the 10-day injured list on Thursday with a left-groin strain and recalled outfielder James Outman from Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move. Taylor, who suffered his groin strain while running out a double on Wednesday night against the division-rival San Francisco Giants, will now miss at least the next 10 days. It's been a terrible year for the 33-year-old veteran, and he hasn't been relevant at all in mixed leagues in 2024 while slashing just .167/.277/.265 with a .542 OPS, three home runs and 15 RBI in 162 at-bats for the Blue. Outman will provide additional outfield depth for LA for the time being, while Enrique Hernandez should be the biggest beneficiary for the Dodgers moving forward at third base, at least until Max Muncy (oblique) returns from his lengthy IL stint.
Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor (groin) is absent from Thursday's starting lineup for the series finale against the visiting division-rival San Francisco Giants. It's no surprise after Taylor tweaked his groin in Wednesday night's contest. Manager Dave Roberts said he expects the 33-year-old infielder/outfielder to go on the 10-day injured list. When an official move comes down, outfielder James Outman is expected to be recalled from the minors to give LA some extra outfield depth. Gavin Lux is back at second base and is hitting fifth on Thursday against Giants right-hander Logan Webb after Taylor got the start at the keystone on Wednesday. Taylor is having one of the worst years of his professional career in 2024 with a .167/.277/.265 slash line with three homers and 15 RBI in 162 at-bats.
Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor (groin) said he felt his left groin "grab" while rounding first base in Wednesday night's contest against the visiting division-rival San Francisco Giants, and he'll undergo an MRI exam on Thursday. Manager Dave Roberts said the concern is "sort of high," and Taylor will likely land on the injured list. Outfielder James Outman is en route to join the big-league roster. Cavan Biggio entered the game to replace Taylor on Wednesday and could see an uptick in at-bats moving forward with Taylor expected to miss some time. The 33-year-old Taylor is having one of his worst seasons in the big leagues for the Dodgers this year, slashing just .167/.277/.265 with a .542 OPS, three home runs and 15 RBI in limited playing time, so he wasn't a fantasy asset in mixed leagues to begin with.
Chris Taylor To Get More Of A "Runway" To Play Third Base
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he is going to give infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor more of a "runway" to play third base moving forward. Max Muncy (oblique) has been on the injured list since May 17, and Cavan Biggio hasn't been good at all since being acquired in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, giving Taylor more leeway to get playing time at the hot corner in LA. The 33-year-old veteran utility man is still batting a miserable .164 (18-for-110) on the year with just two homers, 12 RBI and 43 strikeouts in 126 trips to the plate in 47 games in 2024, but he's starting to turn things around of late. In 14 games played in the month of June, Taylor went 10-for-36 (.278) with two homers, a double, a triple, four RBI, two stolen bases and seven runs scored for the Blue. With additional playing time at third, Taylor's fantasy stock is trending up in deeper leagues.
After riding the bench for the past nine games, Los Angeles Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor drew the start on Thursday versus the Cincinnati Reds. Taylor picked up a single in his four at-bats, but he has struggled mightily this season with five hits in 60 at-bats to go along with five RBI and a stolen base. The veteran has had a brutal start to his 2024 season and the Dodgers will have a tough decision to make ahead of Friday's contest versus the Arizona Diamondbacks with outfielder Jason Heyward (back) expected to return. Taylor has helped fantasy managers in the past, but in 2024, the versatile Taylor can be left on the waiver wire in all formats.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' tentative plan in 2024 is to platoon outfielders Jason Heyward and Manuel Margot in right field, with new acquisition Teoscar Hernandez in left field. Meanwhile, the Dodgers plan to get at-bats for Chris Taylor all over the field, including in left. The 33-year-old can also play center field, second base, third base and shortstop when needed. He could still play pretty regularly when others need a day off and against left-handers, but it won't be much different than what he did in 2023, when he started only 82 of 117 games played. Taylor was slightly better than he was in 2022 in terms of production, but he also struck out 32.6 percent of the tie, which was 17th-worst in baseball. Without an everyday role and with so much swing and miss in his game, Taylor will mostly be an asset in cavernous mixed leagues and NL-only formats for his positional versatility.
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor (knee) took part in the team's intrasquad game on Wednesday, and The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya writes that nobody on the team seem concerned with Taylor's status after the regular season finale on Sunday when he was hit by a pitch on his left knee. Taylor is dealing with a minor knee contusion and is expected to be ready to roll for Game 1 of the National League Division Series this Saturday. Infielder Miguel Rojas (hand, wrist) also took part in the intrasquad game and has been making good progress. The 33-year-old Taylor hit a modest .237 (80-for-338) with 15 home runs, 56 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 51 runs scored in his 117 games for the Blue during the regular season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers activated outfielder/infielder Chris Taylor (knee) from the injured list on Friday. In other moves, the Dodgers added outfielder Jake Marisnick, optioned outfielder Jonny DeLuca and moved right-hander Shelby Miller (neck) to the 60-day injured list to make room for Marisnick on the 40-man roster. Taylor wasn't in the starting lineup on Friday for the first game of the second half of the season, but he could see pretty regular playing time moving forward for the Blue. The 32-year-old veteran has only played in 59 games in 2023 and is hitting .206 (34-for-165) with 11 home runs, six doubles, a triple, 26 RBI, seven stolen bases and 28 runs scored in 182 plate appearances. Taylor's biggest draw in deeper fantasy leagues is his positional versatility.
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor (knee) began his minor league rehab assignment on Friday. Taylor played five innings in left field on Friday for the Dodgers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate. This was his first rehab contest since landing on the injured list in mid-June due to right knee soreness. The hope is that Taylor is going to return shortly after the All-Star break. Fantasy managers will have to stay tuned for more information.
Chris Taylor
• LF
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Dodgers
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Jason Heyward
• RF
