Chris Taylor Retires After 12-Year Baseball Career
Chris Taylor, a former All-Star and two-time World Series champion, has announced his retirement from professional baseball. This marks the end of a 12-year journey that included a significant 10 years with the Dodgers, as confirmed by records from Major League Baseball.
At 35 years old, Taylor was a pivotal figure for the Dodgers from 2016 until 2025, a period that saw the team reach superteam status.
Originally brought over from the Mariners in what many considered a risk—trading only reliever Zach Lee—the Virginia native truly found his footing in Los Angeles. He revamped his swing and evolved into a versatile player capable of filling various roles.
Throughout his career, Taylor played 1,007 of his 1,123 major league games in Dodger blue, collecting 790 hits, hitting 108 home runs, and driving in 423 runs, accompanied by numerous highlights.
Manager Dave Roberts, who was on board with the Dodgers during Taylor’s arrival in June 2016, remarked on Taylor’s impressive career, stating, “He’s had a great career. He’s given everything he can.”
In 2017, Taylor earned the co-MVP title for the National League Championship Series, batting .316 with two home runs, helping the Dodgers reach the World Series for the first time in 29 years. Another memorable performance came in the 2018 NLCS, where he made an incredible over-the-shoulder catch in Game 7 against the Brewers, a moment Roberts recalls fondly, saying, “Man, the world would have been different if he hadn’t made that play.”
During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Taylor played a crucial role in finally breaking the Dodgers’ championship drought, starting nearly all postseason games in October.
He was named an All-Star for the first time in 2021, finishing the season with a .254 batting average, 20 home runs, and a record 73 RBIs. He even hit a walk-off home run in the National League Wild Card Game against the Cardinals.
Over his postseason career, Taylor tallied nine home runs, 26 RBIs, and a .791 OPS.
After the 2021 season, he became a free agent but ultimately re-signed with the Dodgers on a four-year, $60 million contract right before the mid-offseason lockout. Unfortunately, as he entered his 30s, ongoing injury issues and performance struggles began to hinder his game. He never again surpassed 15 home runs in a season or hit higher than .237, eventually being relegated to a bench role during the 2024 World Series and released last May.
Following his release, Taylor joined the Angels and played in 30 games last season, grappling with more injuries. This year, he participated with Salt Lake City’s Triple-A team, batting .255 in 32 games.
However, after 14 years since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, Taylor made the difficult decision to retire. “He [his wife] Mary and the kids can ride off into the sunset,” Roberts noted, acknowledging Taylor’s charitable contributions through his organization CT3. “He was really fun and a complete professional.”
