Samad Taylor

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Samad Taylor

| image = Samad Taylor home run!! (cropped).jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Taylor with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2023

| team = Seattle Mariners

| number = 0

| position = Second baseman / Outfielder

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1998|7|11}}

| birth_place = Corona, California, U.S.

| bats = Right

| throws = Right

| debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = June 17

| debutyear = 2023

| debutteam = Kansas City Royals

| statleague = MLB

| statyear = April 30, 2025

| stat1label = Batting average

| stat1value = .217

| stat2label = Home runs

| stat2value = 0

| stat3label = Runs batted in

| stat3value = 4

| stat4label = Stolen bases

| stat4value = 8

| teams =

Kansas City Royals ({{mlby|2023}})
Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|2024}}–present)

}}

Samad Jahad Taylor (born July 11, 1998) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals.

Career

Taylor attended Corona High School in Corona, California. He committed to play college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats.{{cite web|url=https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/PlayerProfile.aspx?ID=353982|title=Samad Taylor - Player Profile|publisher=Perfect Game USA|access-date=March 10, 2018}}

=Cleveland Indians=

Taylor was selected in the 10th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Cleveland Indians and signed for $125,000.{{Cite web |title=10th Round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.fcgi?year_ID=2016&draft_round=10&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} He was assigned to the Rookie-level Arizona League Indians, where he hit .293 with one home run and 14 runs batted in (RBIs) in 32 games.{{cite web |title=Samad Taylor Minor League Statistics & History |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=taylor008sam |access-date=June 9, 2022 |work=Baseball-Reference.com}} He started the 2017 season with the Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

=Toronto Blue Jays=

On July 31, 2017, the Indians traded Taylor and pitcher Thomas Pannone to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for reliever Joe Smith.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/indians-acquire-reliever-joe-smith-for-samad-taylor-thomas-pannone/|title=Indians acquire reliever Joe Smith for Samad Taylor, Thomas Pannone|last=Glaser|first=Kyle|work=Baseball America|date=July 31, 2017|access-date=February 27, 2018}} He later said that it took several weeks to adjust to the trade.{{Cite web |last=Frank |first=Brian M. |date=2022-05-11 |title=Conversations with the Herd: Samad Taylor |url=https://www.herdchronicles.com/single-post/conversations-with-the-herd-samad-taylor |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=HERD Chronicles |language=en}} The Blue Jays assigned Taylor to the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays for five games before promoting him to the Vancouver Canadians for the remainder of the season. In 52 total games in 2017, Taylor hit .294 with six home runs.

Taylor played for the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts in 2018. In 121 games, he batted .228 with nine home runs and 53 RBI. His 44 stolen bases were a significant increase from 7 the previous year, which he credited to studying the tendencies of pitchers and catchers. He was promoted to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2019, where he played in 108 games and hit .216 with seven home runs, 38 RBI, and 26 steals.

After the 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor played 25 games for the Canberra Cavalry in the Australian Baseball League from December 2020 to February 2021.{{Cite web |title=Samad Taylor {{!}} Baseball Australia |url=https://theabl.com.au/player/samad-taylor-669392 |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=TheABL.com.au}} He played the 2021 season for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, batting .294 with 16 home runs, 52 RBI, and 30 stolen bases in 87 games and was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star.{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/player/samad-taylor-669392|title=Samad Taylor Stats, Fantasy & News|work=Minor League Baseball|access-date=June 9, 2022}} Taylor played with the Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Winter League during the offseason. He started 2022 with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He was placed on the injured list on July 4, then came back for one game on July 13 before going back on the injured list for the rest of the season.{{cite web | url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=taylor008sam&type=bgl&year=2022 | title=Register Players Encyclopedia }} Before his injury, he hit .258 with 9 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 70 games in his first trip through Triple-A.

=Kansas City Royals=

File:Samad Taylor (52838444230) (cropped).jpg in 2023]]

On August 2, 2022, Taylor and pitcher Max Castillo were traded to the Kansas City Royals for Whit Merrifield.{{Cite web |date=August 2, 2022|agency=Associated Press |title=Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield traded to Toronto Blue Jays |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34337186/kansas-city-royals-second-baseman-whit-merrifield-traded-toronto-blue-jays |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=ESPN.com}} Taylor first played after the trade for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League,{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Jared |date=2023-07-06 |title=Behind the Seams Prospects Corner: Q&A with Samad Taylor |url=https://www.justbaseball.com/prospects/behind-the-seams-prospects-corner-qa-with-samad-taylor/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=Just Baseball |language=en-US}} where he hit .152 with 9 stolen bases in 76 plate appearances. On November 10, the Royals selected Taylor's contract to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.{{Cite web|title=Royals' Samad Taylor: Selects contract|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/royals-samad-taylor-kansas-city-selects-contract/amp/|access-date=June 30, 2023|website=cbssports.com|language=en}}

Taylor began the 2023 season with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. In 62 games to start the season for Omaha, he hit .304/.409/.463 with 6 home runs, 37 RBI, and 34 stolen bases. On June 16, 2023, Taylor was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.{{Cite web|title=Royals' Samad Taylor: Promoted to big leagues|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/royals-samad-taylor-promoted-to-big-leagues/amp/|access-date=June 16, 2023|website=cbssports.com|language=en}} The next day, Taylor made his major league debut, going 1 for 3 with his first major league hit coming on a walk-off RBI single on a deep fly ball that Los Angeles Angels' center fielder Mike Trout did not attempt to catch.{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Anne |date=June 18, 2023 |title=Taylor's 1st hit a walk-off: 'This is nothing you dream of' |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/samad-taylor-hits-walk-off-single-for-1st-hit |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article276517166.html Taylor split the rest of 2023 between the majors and Triple-A: he was optioned down to Omaha three different times, with his final demotion coming on September 4. Taylor played in 31 games for the Royals, 11 times as a substitute, and batted .200 with no home runs and 8 stolen bases. After his initial call-up, he played in 27 more games for the Storm Chasers from July through September, batting .295 with 2 home runs and 9 stolen bases.{{Cite web |title=Samad Taylor - Batting Game Logs |url=https://www.fangraphs.com/players/samad-taylor/22274/game-log?position=2B/OF&gds=2023-07-01&gde=2023-10-31&season=&type=-1 |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=FanGraphs Baseball |language=en}}

=Seattle Mariners=

On January 30, 2024, Taylor was traded to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later or cash considerations.{{Cite web|title=Seattle Mariners on X|url=https://x.com/Mariners/status/1752401483864367234?s=20|website=x.com|language=en}} Seattle sent minor league pitcher Natanael Garabitos to the Royals on March 16 to complete the trade.{{Cite web|title=Royals Acquire Natanael Garabitos From Mariners|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-acquire-natanael-garabitos-from-mariners.html|access-date=March 18, 2024|website=mlbtraderumors.com|date=March 15, 2024 |language=en}} Taylor began 2024 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.{{Cite web|title=Mariners' Samad Taylor: Optioned to Tacoma|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/mariners-samad-taylor-optioned-to-tacoma/amp/|date=March 23, 2024|website=cbssports.com|language=en}} After 4 games with the Rainiers,{{Cite web |title=Samad Taylor 2024 Minor, Winter & Fall Leagues Game Logs & Splits |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=taylor008sam&type=bgl&year=2024 |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} Taylor was recalled to the Mariners on April 5. He played in three games, going 2-for-5 and scoring twice before he was optioned back to Tacoma on April 8.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-08 |title=Mariners Announce Several Roster Moves |url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/mariners-announce-several-roster-moves.html |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=MLB Trade Rumors |language=en-US}} He played the rest of the season with Tacoma, hitting .262 with 11 home runs. His 50 stolen bases led the Pacific Coast League, topping teammate Ryan Bliss, who finished second with 40 steals.{{Cite web |title=Season Leaderboards - The Baseball Cube |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/leaderboards/2024~PCL2~minor/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=www.thebaseballcube.com}} The Rainiers broke the league record for most steals in a season.{{Cite web |title=Rainiers Set PCL Record in Shutout Win |url=https://www.milb.com/news/september-21-recap-x8069 |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=Minor League Baseball |language=en}}

Taylor was designated for assignment by Seattle on January 15, 2025.{{Cite web|title=Mariners Acquire Blake Hunt, Designate Samad Taylor For Assignment|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/mariners-acquire-blake-hunt-designate-samad-taylor-for-assignment.html|access-date=January 15, 2025|website=mlbtraderumors.com|language=en}} He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Tacoma on January 21.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-21 |title=Mariners Outright Samad Taylor |url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/mariners-outright-samad-taylor.html |website=MLB Trade Rumors}} In 24 games for Tacoma, Taylor batted .321 with five home runs, 14 RBI, and six stolen bases. On April 29, the Mariners selected Taylor's contract, adding him to their active roster.{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Darragh |date=2023-04-20 |title=Mariners Select Samad Taylor, Place Dylan Moore On IL |url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/04/mariners-select-samad-taylor-place-dylan-moore-on-il.html |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=MLB Trade Rumors}}

Personal life

Taylor is married to Alexia Woodley. Their first child, Aizen, was born in 2024.{{Cite Instagram |postid=C9Npn6jy5cz |user=lil.bill5 |title=Aizen's Parents |first=Samad |last=Taylor |author= |date=July 9, 2024 |access-date=August 18, 2024}}{{Cite Instagram |postid=DAROLq_yD7w |user=alexia_d_taylor |title=we're ready for off season🤝🏽❤️ |date=September 23, 2024}}

Growing up, Taylor was a fan of Chone Figgins and José Reyes. In 2022 with the Buffalo Bisons, he credited Mallex Smith as a mentor.

Taylor's favorite video game is Call of Duty.