clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Dodgers acquire Chris Taylor from Mariners for Zach Lee

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers made a trade after the game on Sunday, sending pitcher Zach Lee to the Mariners for infielder Chris Taylor in a reallocation of major league depth.

Taylor, 25, is hit .312/.387/.457 with 19 doubles and 12 steals in 63 games for Triple-A Tacoma. He played mostly shortstop, with 50 starts at the position, but also made seven starts at second base and five more at third.

The Mariners drafted Taylor in the fifth round in 2012. In 86 major league games over parts of three seasons, Taylor has hit .240/.296/.296 in 256 plate appearances, including 1-for-3 in two games in 2016. Taylor bats right-handed.

Back in 2014, Vince Lara-Cinisomo at Baseball America said "profiles better at second base because of range and arm strength," for what it's worth.

Taylor began the season with 139 days of major league service time, and this is the second of his three option years.

Lee, 24, was 7-5 with a 4.89 ERA in 13 starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2016, with 57 strikeouts and 15 walks in 73⅓ innings in his third year in Triple-A, with numbers down across the board from 2015.

Unfortunately for Lee, his $5.25 million signing bonus as the Dodgers' No. 1 draft pick in 2010 — before there were penalties for teams going over slot recommendations — inflated expectations when it was really the result of his leverage of having a football scholarship to play quarterback at LSU.

Lee was passed on the Dodgers' starting pitching depth chart, now behind Julio Urias, Mike Bolsinger, Ross Stripling, Frankie Montas and likely Jharel Cotton at least, and the only reason Jose De Leon wasn't technically ahead of him at the moment is because De Leon hasn't quite fully stretched out since returning to the OKC rotation.

Lee has been called up three different times to the Dodgers in 2015-2016, but only made one appearance, allowing seven runs in 4⅔ innings in his only major league start last July against the Mets.

The Dodgers were thin at position player depth, especially in the infield, on the 40-man roster, and this move helps to address that.