The Pirates have positioned Michael A. Taylor on outright waivers, in line with Robert Murray of FanSided. You will need to notice that Taylor was not designated for project, which implies he’s nonetheless on the crew’s 26 and 40-man rosters, so he’s eligible to play for the Pirates except he’s claimed by one other membership.
Taylor, 33, stays a superb defender and a precious baserunner in his eleventh large league season. Sadly, he’s placing up career-worst numbers on the plate. Contemplating he already had a profession .683 OPS and 82 wRC+ coming into the 12 months, a career-worst efficiency means the righty batter has been all however an automated out. He’s slashing .196/.257/.284 with 4 dwelling runs and 20 RBI in 1oo video games.
With that in thoughts, it’s not laborious to see why the Pirates is likely to be searching for one other crew to take Taylor’s wage off their palms. The veteran signed a one-year, $4MM contract with Pittsburgh within the offseason, and he’s nonetheless owed roughly $790,000 for the rest of the season. Nonetheless, if Taylor goes unclaimed over the following 48 hours, he could have the fitting to reject an outright project to the minor leagues with out forfeiting any wage. Thus, it wouldn’t be stunning if the Pirates resolve to retain him on the energetic roster. He nonetheless affords worth as a veteran fourth outfielder and high quality defensive substitute, even when he isn’t the on a regular basis participant the Pirates hoped he could be. Alternatively, the crew may choose to eat his remaining wage and provides his roster spot to a extra promising younger participant. Commerce deadline acquisitions Nick Yorke and Billy Cook dinner have each been hitting nicely at Triple-A currently; absolutely the Pirates will need to see what each of them can do on the large league stage sooner relatively than later.
