Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Dave Roberts Has High Praise for Chris Taylor in Team MVP Talk

Put some respect on the name of Chris Taylor. The Dodgers utility man is putting the finishing touches on a fine campaign for LA. The always stoic Taylor has a .277/.376/.492 triple slash line with 8 home runs and 32 RBI in 54 games this season. 

While Mookie Betts and Corey Seager are true NL MVP candidates for the Dodgers in 2020, CT3 honestly isn’t that far off the pace. He’s right behind Betts and Seager in Wins Above Replacement on the team this season with a 2.0 WAR by Baseball-Reference and 1.6 by FanGraphs.



With that said, manager Dave Roberts was singing the praises of his utility man recently on the Off Air podcast with Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser.

I do love CT, and he’s one of my favorite players. Honestly, when you’re talking about MVPs for our club, he is right there in the mix. I know Mookie gets a lot of notoriety, but with what he does for our club, how he makes my job easy — MVP, he should be there every year on our club.

And Doc is spot on. Where Taylor adds even more value is in his ability play almost everywhere on the field. He’s started games at shortstop, second base, center field, and left field, which is par for the course. Moreover, his ability to be an exceptional everyday player without a true everyday spot on the field is a big reason why the Dodgers offered him a 2-year, $13.4 M contract extension last offseason, keeping him in LA through at least 2022.

MVP voters won’t be looking at Chris Taylor as they place their votes for the NL MVP next month, but they should at least give him a look as they sort through cases.

NEXT: Former Dodgers Pitchers Sprinkled All Over MLB Playoffs

Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

4 Comments

  1. CT is one of their better players. Even when they had thoughts of dumping him I said no. he’s proven himself over and over.

  2. And he’s probably a better defensive shortstop than Seager at this point. Corey’s errors are mounting up lately and he doesn’t make the spectacular plays than better defensive shortstops make. Could be a problem in the playoffs. DH made for Corey at this stage.
    Let the hate replies begin.

  3. CT3 has earned the 2nd base spot for the playoffs beginning Wednedday. Roberts has said he will be there instead of Lux. But don’t be surprised if at some point Taylor plays another position, WSS. Only thing for him and some other players is to cut down on those strikeouts, as ee all saw the result of those 64 KS in 5 NLDS games of last year

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