Los Angeles Dodgers: Five best trades by Andrew Friedman’s front office

3. Chris Taylor trade

Last June the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Chris Taylor in a straight swap for pitching prospect Zach Lee. Lee was once a top 100 prospect in baseball, and at the time of this trade, had lost his high prospect status. However, Lee still had some upside and was a relatively cheap risk to take by dealing Taylor, or so the Seattle Mariners thought.

Taylor had 86 games logged with the Mariners at the time of this trade, batting just .240 with not a single home run. Despite him holding a .314 batting average in the minor leagues, the Mariners were willing to part ways with the utility infielder. At first, this deal seemed to be worth it for Seattle, as Taylor was batting just.207 in 34 games played for the Dodgers in 2016.

However, those tides have turned in 2017 as Taylor has given the Dodgers an unexpected jolt. Taylor was initially called up on April 19 after Logan Forsythe and Rob Segedin hit the disabled list. Since then, Taylor has been one of the best producers on the Dodgers’ roster.

Taylor has batted .312 with 12 home runs and 48 runs batted in. Not only is his bat thriving, Taylor has been able to step it up for the Dodgers when his teammates were injured. Despite not having any outfield experience prior to 2017, Taylor has played both left and center field along with second and third base and shortstop.

As for Lee, well he has not done much. Lee did not make a single appearance for the Mariners and has made 3 appearances for the Padres this season; allowing five runs in eight innings.