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Samad Taylor has been one of the most impressive hitters in the Seattle Mariners minor league system this season. And he's getting his first crack at the big leagues this year.
Taylor's contract was selected by the Mariners on Wednesday after utility player Dylan Moore was placed on the 10-day injured list with right hip inflammation.
"(It's) a little bit of everything," Taylor said in a pregame interview Wednesday. "It's a dream come true to get back up top. And I'm just here to do what I need to do to stay. That's it."
Roster moves:
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) April 29, 2025
Samad Taylor (#0), INF/OF, selected from Triple-A Tacoma
Dylan Moore, INF/OF, placed on 10-day Injured List (right hip inflammation, retroactive to April 26)
Gregory Santos, RHP, transferred to 60-day Injured List (right knee inflammation)
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Taylor is hitting .321 (27-for-84) with 12 runs, five doubles, five home runs, six steals and 14 RBIs in 23 games this season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
"You look at (my) numbers last year, I was riding a roller-coaster a lot," Taylor said. "I made a couple adjustments in the offseason that panned out to work and I'm sticking with it. It's just the consistency in the box is the biggest thing. ... I was a pretty jumpy hitter. I'm a quick-twitch muscle guy. So (I've been) staying on my back side and let things work."
WALK IT OFF Samad Taylor!! pic.twitter.com/CUiWiw8InC
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 13, 2025
Seattle acquired Taylor in a trade with the Kansas City Royals on Jan. 30, 2024.
Taylor played three games for the Mariners in 2024. He hit .400 (2-for-5) with two runs in three games. He hit .333 (8-for-24) with five runs, two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in 12 Cactus League games this spring.
On top of the mechanical improvements Taylor made, he's also going into this latest promotion with a refined mental approach. Senior director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer helped give pointers on that aspect of Taylor's game during the spring.
"I just picked their brain on the mental side," Taylor said. "It really wasn't a crazy mechanical adjustment. I'm a big thinker, or I was a big thinker. I've kind of flushed it now. It was just taking the things that they said on the mental side and changing those, and it's worked."
Taylor said that manager Dan Wilson told him to "cause havoc and stay ready." And based on his work this season in Tacoma, and the Mariners' aggressive habits on the bases, that's exactly what he'll do.
Related Minor League Baseball stories
MARINERS CATCHING PROSPECT HARRY FORD ACCOMPLISHES MAJOR CAREER MILESTONE: The Mariners' Top 100 catcher hit his first Triple-A long ball with the Tacoma Rainiers. CLICK HERE
MARINERS PROSPECT TYLER LOCKLEAR HAS FOUR-HIT GAME FOR TACOMA RAINIERS: The first baseman continued his dominant year in Triple-A with against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. CLICK HERE
MARINERS PITCHING PROSPECT TEDDY MCGRAW CLEARED TO RESUME THROWING PROGRAM: One of the Mariners' most talented but injury-prone minor leaguers is set to restart his route to return. CLICK HERE
More must-reads:
- Yankees have finally found their third baseman in Ryan McMahon
- Phillies' Kyle Schwarber inches closer to franchise history vs. Yankees
- The 'Multiple 100-RBI MLB seasons' quiz
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Yankees have finally found their third baseman in Ryan McMahon
After years of speculation and nothing materializing, the New York Yankees have at last acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies, per the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Pitching prospects Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz are headed to the Mile High City in return. They were the number eight and 21st-ranked prospects in the Yankees' farm system, per MLB.com. Given the Yankees' struggles at the third-base position over the last few years, bringing in a guy who was an All-Star in 2024 and will be much more reliable is a win. Former MLB player and current analyst Cameron Maybin certainly believes that, as he was pushing the McMahon-to-New York narrative over the last week and feels it could be a great fit for both sides. "The third baseman they need plays in Colorado...I'm telling you! Defensively more than adequate and Taylor made for the ballpark offensively," Maybin wrote on social media. Maybin went on to mention how McMahon will feel reinvigorated joining a World Series contender like the Yankees after the last six-and-a-half years of being at the bottom in Colorado. The 30-year-old is not having his best season, slugging 16 home runs and 35 RBI with a .217 average through 100 games with the Rockies, per MLB.com stats. However, he's consistently been a 20-plus home run hitter who drives in runs at a strong rate and has a large sample size of doing so. Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez (.252 average, 36 HRs, 86 RBI) has seemed to be No. 1 target for most teams, and for good reason, but given the Yankees' current situation and weaknesses, McMahon made more sense. Not only does he play a better third base, which New York desperately needs, but he has another two years of control after 2025, whereas Suarez would have been a rental. The acquisition cost was nothing crazy, and adding a lefty bat with some power to potentially take advantage of the short porch at Yankee Stadium is always a bonus. Some may not be satisfied until they see McMahon positively impacting the New York Yankees, but rest assured, this is a very solid pickup.
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Warriors' Stephen Curry believes NBA players are 'underpaid'
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