Angels sign ex-Dodgers All-Star hours before facing Yankees

Matthew Wadleigh

Angels sign ex-Dodgers All-Star hours before facing Yankees  image

The Los Angeles Angels have been hot as of late and begin a series with the New York Yankees on Memorial Day. But, hours before the first game was set to start, the Angels made a big signing. 

They added former Los Angeles Dodgers utilityman and one-time All-Star Chris Taylor, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. And, in a bit of a surprise, Taylor was in the starting lineup and in center field for Monday's game. 

"Free agent super-utility man Chris Taylor has signed with the Angels and will be in center field tonight against the Yankees, source tells @TheAthletic."

The Dodgers released Taylor last week in the final year of a four-year, $60 million deal, and Taylor had appeared in 1,007 regular season games for the Dodgers while playing numerous positions. 

However, Taylor's playing time decreased this year, and the Dodgers decided to release him for more opportunities. So far in 2025, Taylor appeared in 28 games and had a .200 batting average in just 35 at-bats. 

He was with the Dodgers since 2016 and was an All-Star in 2021 while being part of two World Series-winning teams and being named the NLCS MVP in 2017. 

Now, he wastes no time getting thrown right into the starting lineup, and Taylor could play numerous positions for the other LA team as well. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.