Samad

Taylor

Merrill has been scuffling recently, hitting just .228 (28-for-123) with four homers and seven steals over his last 30 games. He’s just 5-for-28 over his last seven games. His cold spell corresponds with a hot streak from Samad Taylor, who has been hitting second for the last couple weeks now. The Padres have moved him out of the heart of the order temporarily with lefty Shota Imanaga taking the ball for Chicago at Wrigley Field on Monday night.

Taylor finishes hitless in the series against the Dodgers, though he did have four walks while going 0-for-10. He’s still hitting .324/.410/.384 overall, and while it shouldn’t last, his stolen base ability makes him a decent fantasy option while he’s playing regularly.

Sung-Mun Song gets the nod at the keystone with red-hot Samad Taylor in right field for Sunday afternoon’s showdown at Globe Life Field. It’s the first day off for Tatis since May 3. The 27-year-old fantasy standout has experienced a tumultuous season at the dish, putting it mildly, but he’s shown some real signs of life recently, hitting .329 (24-for-73) with one homer and four steals in 17 games since the start of June.

Taylor has gone 9-for-31 (.355) with one home run, six runs scored, eight RBI, and three steals in nine games since being recalled from Triple-A, so the Padres will reward him by moving him up in the order. Those stats are great, and Taylor can certainly fly, but he also had just a 27 percent hard-hit rate in Triple-A and a league-average 85 percent zone contact rate. He’s hitting the ball on the ground 60 percent of the time and has the speed to beat out infield singles, the batting average and stolen bases could be there, but he’s a career .250/.313/.327 hitter in 118 MLB plate appearances, so don’t expect him to keep producing at this level.

Machado took Orioles reliever Albert Suárez deep in the ninth inning to close out a five-homer afternoon for the Padres that included blasts by Jackson Merrill, Samad Taylor, Gavin Sheets and Rodolfo Durán. The 33-year-old veteran third baseman has hit a bit of a rough patch lately, batting .196 (9-for-46) with two homers and five RBI since the start of June.

Taylor also swiped his first bag in his third game since being called up Wednesday. In another timeline, Taylor is a well-established MLB bench player thanks to his speed, versatility and modest on-base skills. It hasn’t worked out in this one, but as lacking as the Padres are at the moment, maybe he’ll play enough to offer some NL-only value.

Taylor will take Nick Castellanos’ spot on the roster and is capable of playing all around the outfield and at second base. He was hitting .319/.406/.500 in 51 games at Triple-A with seven home runs and nine steals. He seems likely to serve in a super utility role with the Padres.

The latest batch of cuts trims Padres camp down to 51 players with just over one week left until Opening Day. Adcock has made 18 relief appearances between the Mets and Mariners since 2023. He’ll open the year back in the minors as organizational depth.

It didn’t take Taylor long to find a new home after being removed from Seattle’s 40-man roster earlier this week. The 27-year-old’s defensive versatility and speed make it easy to envision a super utility bench role with the Padres but he’ll have to beat out in-house alternatives like Mason McCoy and Bryce Johnson in spring training to have any shot at cracking the Opening Day roster.

Taylor was designated for assignment by the Mariners on January 15th and was not claimed on waivers. He has decided to become a free agent rather than stay in the Seattle organization. He has slashed .205/.272/.260 line in 83 plate appearances but has a .281/.373/.432 line with 160 steals in the last four years in the minor leagues.