‘I SMILED WHEN I SAW IT’
What the addition of Taylor means for this club
BRADENTON, Fla. — When Mitch Keller learned earlier this month the Pirates were signing Michael A. Taylor, his reaction was befitting of a pitcher, the person on any of the Gold Glove-winning outfielder’s teams who has most directly benefitted from the 32-year-old’s outstanding defense.
“I smiled when I saw it,” Keller said. “That’s not knocking anyone we have on the team already, but you add a Gold Glove center fielder out there who’s tracking down everything, especially in our park, it’s awesome. I’m super excited for him and our team.”
The addition of Taylor, a converted shortstop the Nationals picked in the sixth round of the 2009 MLB draft, was undoubtedly a smart move by the Pirates, especially considering the reasonable $4 million price tag.
There will be a shakeup, as manager Derek Shelton began reworking his outfield by shifting Bryan Reynolds to right field on Mar. 16 against the Tigers.
That’ll mean Jack Suwinski moving to left, though Shelton insisted he might flip the two around Taylor, depending on the ballpark.
But Taylor’s the focus, and few do it better.
Consider this: During the past three seasons, Ke’Bryan Hayes leads all qualified defenders with 61 defensive runs saved, per
FanGraphs. Taylor’s second with 43.
“If you think about the really good Pirates teams at PNC Park, most of them have had that center field, quality defender,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “It’s a tricky outfield.
“If you think about other ballparks around the league that have those big spaces and unique configurations, it’s like having more than one center fielder out there. Usually the good teams have that.”
Tracing back further, Taylor has been worth 72 DRS since 2015, a total eclipsed by only four outfielders across MLB. It’s actually surprising he’s only won one Gold Glove (2021).
It’s also impressive considering Taylor was a shortstop when Washington selected him out of high school at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
After the draft, Taylor spent his first instructional league working with Nationals minor league coordinator Tony Tarasco on the finer points of the outfield. Taylor’s aptitude and natural athleticism made him a perfect fit.
“I owe a lot to Tony Tarasco,” Taylor said. “A lot of the things I’m doing now, I learned from him at 18. He was a big part of my development.
“You’d think at that level, a lot of guys don’t wanna talk about elementary things. He spent a lot of time doing that for me. That built a foundation that carried me the rest of my career and is still important today.”
Asked what makes Taylor such a good center fielder, Shelton praised Taylor’s reads and jumps, as well as his athleticism. That combo, plus Taylor’s instincts, create an impressive product.
One that will surely help the Pirates defense.
Taylor said the Pirates expressed interest in acquiring him early this offseason. Shelton added that he did some background work by calling his good friend Rocco Baldelli, who managed Taylor in Minnesota.
Baldelli was obviously complimentary of Taylor’s work, but there wasn’t really traction on anything with the Pirates until about a week ago.
“I’m looking to help the team any way that I can, whether that’s baserunning, defense or offensively,” Taylor said. “I just try to be as flexible as possible.”
While defense is certainly his calling card, there’s is an important offensive component here, too.
Taylor hit a career-high 21 home runs last season in Minnesota after the Twins encouraged him to take a different approach — selling out for power and trying more to put the ball over the fence.
Some of the results were good, but a byproduct was Taylor’s strikeout rate climbing to a career-high 33.5%, his on-base percentage falling from .313 to .278. Chances are the Pirates will sacrifice some power to have Taylor see more pitches and get on base at a better clip.
Taylor has been working this season on flattening his bat path — in the zone quicker, not pushy with his hands, a move that should improve his chances at contact.
Because he signed late, much of that work happened at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., where Taylor would only do individual work but take part in practice with the college team.
To get more at-bats in Bradenton, Taylor also plans to spend his off time over at Pirate City, competing against minor leaguers.
And while it’s clear what the Pirates want from Taylor — the terrific defense that excited Keller and others — he said he chose the Pirates because of the culture of the team, something he gleaned during a Zoom call with the coaching staff and members of the front office.
“We just talked about the winning culture, doing things the right way and working hard, all things that are in alignment with what I believe,” Taylor said. “I had the opportunity to come here, and I heard a lot of good things from guys who played here previously. So, it seemed like a good fit.”