Michael A. Taylor Considered Returning to Twins Before Signing with Pirates
Michael A. Taylor had interest in rejoining the Minnesota Twins before ultimately signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Twins had acquired Manuel Margot after failing to reach an agreement with Taylor, who had filled in as the center fielder last season when Byron Buxton was primarily a designated hitter.
Twins’ Interest and Taylor’s Decision
During the spring training free agency period, the Twins made efforts to retain Taylor. However, their first encounter with him this season was at PNC Park, where Taylor was donning a Pirates uniform.
“I won’t get into the details of the conversations, but interest is one thing and putting something on paper is another,” Taylor said. “I really enjoyed my time there, and I would’ve gone back, but it’s not always up to me.”
The Twins opted to trade for Margot, taking on $4 million for the final year of his contract. Taylor eventually signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Pirates.
Taylor’s Struggles and Reflections
Taylor has had a challenging offensive season, hitting .198 with one home run, nine RBIs, and 51 strikeouts in 47 games. Despite his brief spring training, he didn’t blame it for his struggles. He only signed on March 16 and had nine at-bats before the season began.
“Did it weigh on me? I would say a little bit,” said Taylor. “I wanted to be playing, and I wanted to start my year and build off what I did last year. At the same time, I appreciated the extra time at home with my family. I was kind of torn between the two. I enjoyed the time at home but was also happy to get going once that deal got done.”
Had Taylor returned to the Twins, he likely would have had a different role due to Buxton’s return to center field. However, he mentioned, “It didn’t even get that far, honestly.”
Last season, Taylor started 110 games in center field, while Buxton was limited to designated hitter. Taylor expressed happiness for Buxton’s return to the outfield and praised the “great clubhouse” atmosphere of the Twins.
“I think we had everything it took to be a championship team,” Taylor said, reflecting on his time with the Twins. “The playoffs are challenging, and there are a lot of things that have to go your way. We just fell a little short, but I definitely think the pieces were there.”
Twins’ Current Playoff Position
If the season ended today, the Twins would secure a wild-card playoff spot. However, they are 0-14 against the New York Yankees, Cleveland Guardians, and Baltimore Orioles—the top three teams in the American League.
“There have been a handful of games against those teams that we played games that we could have very easily or maybe even should have won, and we didn’t,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “We played a lot of games against those teams where we just got beat, too. The fact that we haven’t won a game, it’s a pretty bold print, easy typed-up statement. There are no ways around those facts.”
The Twins have been swept by the Yankees, are 0-5 against Cleveland, and were swept in a three-game series in Baltimore in April.
“We just have to play better baseball, go out there with confidence, do our jobs, and win. That’s it,” Baldelli said. “We haven’t beaten those teams, and you probably look at every other game we’ve played this year for the entire season, and we’ve played our butts off in all those other games and played really well.”
