January 19th, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka To say that the Dodgers have been (relatively) quiet thus far this off-season would be a bit of an understatement.
Oh, sure, you can certainly argue that Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and General Manager Brandon Gomes have been somewhat active in bringing up a number of kids from ‘Down on the Farm’ and signed a number of international free agent minor leaguers recently, but by and large, the Dodgers have been far less active this ‘Hot Stove Season’ than their division rivals.
…for now.
As we have all come to know, Friedman is the absolute Grand Master at pulling off some of the biggest transactions in recent memory, a good many of which occurred at the proverbial ‘last minute.’
By now, most Dodgers fans are well aware that extremely popular utility infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor‘s name has been one of – if not the – biggest name being tossed around this off-season (at least by fans) as being a potential trade chip, with the primary focus being on potentially landing a veteran shortstop and/or pitching help. That being said, among those kids called up from the minors and a couple of those international free agents signed this past week have varying degrees of experience at the number six position.
Be that as it may, and despite all of the (seemingly endless) trade rumors being tossed around about Chris Taylor, as of this moment – Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. PT – Chris Taylor is still a Dodger.
…for now.
(Keith Birmingham)
The thing to remember is that the 32-year-old Virginia Beach, VA native and fifth-round draft pick in 2012 by the Seattle Mariners out of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville will be entering the second year of his current four-year/$60 million contract with the Dodgers, which, of course, is exactly why he is considered such a valuable potential trade chip.
This raises a huge question and brings us to the point of this piece: Would the Dodgers be better off keeping Taylor as their everyday shortstop – the position that he played almost exclusively in college and in the Minors but in only a combined 183 games during his (thus far) seven seasons as a Dodger, and only one in 2022 – or should they trade him for an established veteran shortstop?
Fire away.
Play Ball!
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If CT3 returns to his pre 2022 number he is a great asset at those salaries.keep CT3 and Muncy. The heck with Ohtani.
Sign Urias . Buehler returns in 24. May. Then we have Miller and the gang coming.
Dodgers are in great shape.
“The heck with Ohtani, re-sign Urias, Taylor is great deal at that salary”-What a stupid take. That’s why you don’t know ball.
Will the Dodgers lower ticket prices for being so cheap this offseason
LOL!!!! 235 million dollars is cheap?????
The fundamental question remains, are the Dodgers committed to staying below the 2023 CBT threshold? If the answer is yes, then it is almost impossible to achieve that goal without trading one of Taylor or Max Muncy, or trading Daniel Hudson and Tony Gonsolin.
JP are the Dodgers currently under the luxury tax number.
No. According to Fangraphs payroll resource, the Dodgers are ~$4.9M above the $233M threshold.
Lol, you’re a liar, they’re 5M over.
I doubt they’d trade away Gonsolin unless they think he’s a likely perennial injury problem. Hudson I can see them trading. Given he had a good first half then became injured could it be considered selling high on him?? It’d be very AF-ish to package either CT3 or Muncy (both?!) with a prospect or two to get a tremendous return though I’d feel sad about it in the short term. Muncy is a perennial 30 HR hitter. At least he was pre elbow injury. If they truly think he’s healed, they’ll keep him
It would not surprise me for Gonsolin to be traded considering how many top-notch RH pitching prospects the Dodgers have on the current roster plus those still in the pipeline. Gonsolin’s only plus pitch is the splitter which is hard on the elbow. Perhaps Gonsolin would return a SS prospect?
I question the quality of player the Dodgers can receive in return for Taylor.
All the teams are aware of his strikeout rate. Muncy has to prove that he is still the same hitter that he was two years ago. The Dodgers are not the same team that they were last year. My hope is that San Diego will have it’s annual implosion. I don’t remember when the Dodgers have had so many question marks and “if’s”. On the other hand, what “if” everyone stays healthy and players, especially the young ones, play up to their so-called potential?
How bout 1988.?
But you have some valid points.
No team will take KT3 and that contract after his dismal 2022 unless he is packaged with a couple of really good prospects. Muncy is the most likely to get some interest from other teams and be moved.
I can see CT3 traded, if for anything, to shed dollars to get under the luxury tax. If there was any thought of him playing substantial innings in the infield, Rojas would not have been aquired. Therefore, I think he’s on the move by the trade deadline.
Dodgers need pitching so I wouldn’t trade Gonsolin who is still a bargain and keep Hudson for bullpen needs. Muncy and Taylor are both offensive liabilities until they prove otherwise. Taylor can play many positions well so I would trade Muncy’s $13mil and then try to find a trade for Carlson or Reynolds for CF.
I would trade neither. Muncy is underrated. BTW ESPN said he is the 8th best third baseman in MLB.
And Bellinger was supposedly the 99th best player in MLB at the start of 2022 also according to ESPN. It’s based off past history. Muncy is ass now. Get him and Taylor’s asses out of here.
Apparently no one has any confidence in Gavin Lux at SS. Why not roll with the Kid he played pretty well at 2nd and his true position is SS. He doesn’t have a lot of power but he can hit for average and that what we need.