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Tyrone Taylor Providing Consistency As Bench Option For Cubs
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- Tyrone Taylor Providing Consistency As Bench Option For Cubs
The Chicago Cubs showed their all-in approach at this year's trade deadline.
The Cubs were extremely active at the August 3rd deadline to improve their team for the stretch run. That led the team to trade away several top prospects in exchange for veteran players who can help now.
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The front office identified the team's lack of pitching and went out to upgrade that group. The Cubs acquired Kevin Gausman from the Toronto Blue Jays , Clay Holmes from the New York Mets , Braxton Garrett from the Miami Marlins , and Ryan Zeferjahn from the Los Angeles Angels .
While the Cubs had to part ways with Moises Ballesteros , Jefferson Rojas, and other prospects to get those pitchers, they did a good job upgrading a group that needed improvement for the final few months of the season.
But one move the Cubs made that is certainly flying under the radar is acquiring Tyrone Taylor in the Holmes deal with the Mets.
Chicago acquired Holmes and Taylor from the Mets for Rojas. Holmes was obviously the headline piece in that deal, and he has been nothing short of spectacular in his Cubs tenure so far. He has a 1.96 ERA across 23 innings pitched.
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Taylor, though, has been just as impactful to this Cubs team since arriving in early August. The 32-year-old outfielder is slashing .389/.452/.472 with three doubles, two RBI, and three stolen bases in his first 14 games.
Taylor has really given the Cubs another productive bat in the lineup. He just went 2-for-4 in the team's 19-2 win over the Mariners last Sunday and then went 4-for-5 with one double and three runs scored in Saturday's 17-5 win.
When the Cubs acquired Taylor in that Holmes deal, most fans probably overlooked the move. He was batting .241 with only 10 home runs and 28 RBI across 67 games with the Mets and was clearly just a pure depth acquisition by Chicago.
Taylor has now turned into a reliable bench bat for the Cubs. He is going to play a huge role for this team down the stretch and is likely going to be used as a pinch-hitter against left-handed pitching in the postseason. The eight-year veteran is currently slashing .318/.348/.568 with five home runs and 14 RBI against southpaws this season.
Taylor might only have 42 plate appearances with the Cubs, but he's already showing his worth on a team that has World Series aspirations.
