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The Chicago White Sox signed veteran outfielder Michael A. Taylor on a one-year, $1.95 million contract, the club announced on Wednesday.
In a corresponding move, the White Sox placed right-hander Jesse Scholtens on the 60-day injured list to make room for Taylor on the 40-man roster. Scholtens, 30, missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.
Taylor, 33, is known for his defensive ability, and leads all major leaguers with 52 defensive runs saved since 2020, according to the White Sox. He won an American League Gold Glove as a center fielder with the Kansas City Royals in 2021.
Last season, Taylor posted a career-best 1.4 Defensive Wins Above Replacement for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted a career-low .193 for the Pirates, with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 113 games.
In 2023, he displayed surprising power, launching 21 home runs in 129 games with the Minnesota Twins.
Taylor is a career .235 hitter with 100 homers and 353 RBIs in 1,082 games for the Washington Nationals (2014-20), Royals (2021-22), Twins (2023) and Pirates. Selected by the Nationals in the sixth round of the 2009 MLB Draft, Taylor won the World Series with Washington in 2019.
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TODAY'S BEST
Aaron Boone Makes Feelings Clear After Yankees’ Big Trade
The New York Yankees didn't come into the season with the strongest third base situation, and it only got worse over time. They converted traditional second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the hot corner after getting him at the Trade Deadline last season and installed a timeshare with him, DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Oswaldo Cabrera there in 2025. However, the latter player broke his ankle on May 12, and the Yankees released the now 37-year-old LeMahieu on July 10. Chisholm was primarily back at second at that point, so this left Peraza and Jorbit Vivas as their only true remaining third basemen. With Peraza hitting .147 and Vivas hitting .164, it was clear what the team's biggest need was. That's why it acquired veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies on Friday. New York manager Aaron Boone gave his thoughts about the 30-year-old before Friday's bout with the Philadelphia Phillies, via SNY. "I know there's real offensive potential there. I know he's had real offensive success, as well as some struggles there over the last calendar year or two," he said. "It seems like over the last month he's really started swinging the bat like he's capable of. He can impact the ball, he can control the strike zone, he's had some swing-and-misses that have probably hurt him a little bit." "But then he can really defend over there," he continued. "The handful of times that we've played against them that I watch him, you're like, 'That's what it should look like over there.' He moves really well and has that prototypical good third base thing." McMahon is slashing .217/.314/.403 with 16 homers and 35 RBI over 100 games this season. He also has a .978 fielding percentage and six errors. Right-handed pitcher Will Warren (6-5, 4.91 ERA) will start for the Yankees against Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.75 ERA) on Friday.
Why as many as 100 NFL players are facing fines and potential suspension
There is not a bigger sporting event in North America than the Super Bowl, and tickets are only getting more expensive every year. There is also a ridiculous secondary market for tickets where seats sell for well above the original face value. It is usually fans or ticket resellers going for a quick profit. But as was reported on Friday, sometimes it can be players in the NFL looking to make a profit. According to multiple reports, including the Associated Press and ESPN, more than 100 players are facing fines and potential suspensions for selling their allotment of tickets to this year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs for above face value. Players are reportedly facing fines of one-and-a-half times the face value they originally paid for the tickets, while they are also prevented from purchasing tickets to the Super Bowl for the next seasons. The Associated Press obtained a memo from the NFL detailing the violation and investigation. That memo was as follows: “Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” If players are not willing to pay the fine, they could be facing suspension from the league. It seems unlikely that any of the players — none of whom have been named, or their teams — would refuse to pay such a fine. It's also one of those moments where you can say, professional athletes — they're still normal people trying to make a quick buck. The most logical answer here is perhaps some of the players caught up in this are younger players who have not yet struck it rich on a big contract or perhaps even practice squad players who are not making top dollar.
'In what world does this make sense?’: Oilers and $63M forward
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
Aaron Judge has imaging on elbow, out vs. Phillies
Yankees superstar right fielder Aaron Judge underwent imaging on his right elbow Saturday morning and is not in the lineup for the afternoon game against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. "He had a throw in Toronto where it zinged him, it hurt," manager Aaron Boone told reporters Saturday, referencing Tuesday's 5-4 victory in Toronto when the Yankees captain winced in apparent pain after making a routine throw. "Then, you know, felt good to go on the off day, and then last night, though, just was struggling to throw a little bit. So want to get this checked out." Boone said it was "tough to say" whether the current elbow issue occurred during that throw in Toronto. He said the elbow issue appears to be affecting Judge's throwing more than his hitting. "It was more about throwing last night, like he couldn't really get the ball in very well," Boone said. "So felt like want to have him down and get the imaging and get our hands around just what exactly we're dealing with." Judge, 33, belted his 37th home run of the season and 352nd of his career on Wednesday to pass Alex Rodriguez for sixth place in Yankees history. Yogi Berra is fifth with 358. The two-time American League MVP currently paces the majors in batting average (.342), on-base percentage (.449) and slugging percentage (.756). He leads the AL in runs (90) and RBIs (85).
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