The Seattle Mariners officially lost history-making speedster Samad Taylor to free agency on Friday, as he elected free agency after being previously designated for assignment and clearing waivers.

It's a disappointing loss for fans, as Taylor was a well-liked person in the organization. And for the organization, it's the loss of a valuable chess piece that has the ability to help at the big-league level.

That said, there's still a chance that he could return to the Mariners on a minor league deal eventually.

Now 27 years old, Taylor was a 10th-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft out of the California high school ranks. He made his major league debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2023 and has 38 games of big-league experience under his belt with the Royals and Mariners. He appeared in four games for Seattle in 2025, dropping down a critical bunt in a May win against the Los Angeles Angels.

Taylor spent much of the last two seasons with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, stealing 94 bases, which is now makes him the club's all-time record holder.

Taylor hit .296 last season with 17 homers, 44 steals and 86 RBIs. He also led the minor leagues in runs scored (124), the highest total seen since 2019. He also had 657 plate appearances, the most in the minors since at least 2005.

Of course anything is possible, but it's probably best for him to explore his options. With Cole Young, Colt Emerson, JP Crawford, Ben Williamson, Leo Rivas, Ryan Bliss, Miles Mastrobuoni and Patrick Wisdom, the M's infield situation is crowded to say the least. Other teams will have better major league opportunities.

Taylor joined a May episode of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast to talk about his season at the time, his mindset and much more. Even eight months later, it's a great conversation to go back and listen to.

--The Mariners came to a minor league agreement with right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning on Thursday night. Here's what you need to know about Dunning and about what his role could potentially be in the organization moving forward. He previously pitched for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox.

--Cal Raleigh was ranked as the fourth-best player in baseball by the MLB Network crew on Thursday night, completing the Top 100 players countdown.

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