This High-Energy Speedster Should Be Brought Back Next Year

The San Diego Padres cycled through multiple bench players trying to find a bat and some offense. One of the best was outfielder Samad Taylor, who brought a unique level of energy to the Padres, and San Diego should definitely be interested in bringing him back on a new minor league deal for another go-round. 

Taylor’s game is all about speed, which makes him somewhat unique in today’s version of baseball. He doesn’t hit for power, but Taylor makes contact consistently, and he knows how to use his speed on the base paths. 

The 28-year old outfielder is a journeyman at this point in his career, and he’s been trying to find a home for a while. San Diego feels like the best fit so far, as Taylor’s game fits with the Padres’ occasional forays into small ball. He was DFA’d by the Seattle Mariners back at the beginning of the year, so the Padres signed him to a minor league deal. 

The Padres selected his contract on June 3 shortly after they cut ties with DH Nick Castellanos, and he made an immediate difference. Taylor wound up playing in 47 games, and he hit .316 with an OPB of .390, and he played good defense for the Padres, although his average arm strength does limit him largely to left field. 

Taylor was also one of the best on the team when it comes to bunting and moving runners over, which is something the rest of the Padres struggled with occasionally. He stole 13 bases in 47 games, and the outfielder teamed up frequently with Fernando Tatis Jr. to pressure opposing defenses once they got on base. 

What Taylor doesn’t bring to the table is power. That’s not his game, and he’s a gap hitter when he’s on. That eliminates him as a middle-of-the-order bat, although he can be a plus addition at the bottom of a lineup for a team like San Diego that uses Tatis in the leadoff role. 

Taylor has also struggled to hit consistently in a couple of his previous stops, and he was out for a time this season with an oblique injury. Those would be concerns for the Padres as well, but it certainly shouldn’t stop San Diego from giving him a shot. 

The outfielder is also a pre-arbitration player, which means he’s under team control through 2032. He made just under a million this year, which is nothing in today’s game, and offering him a new minor league contract with an invitation to spring training plus options and incentives is a no-brainer given how dynamic he made the Padres lineup when he played.