Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Chris Taylor Felt ‘Out of Tune’ Last Year, Hopes to Bounce Back in 2023

The 2022 season was a horrible one for Chris Taylor, from a personal baseball perspective. While his team was setting a franchise record with 111 wins in the regular season, Taylor was striking out at an alarming rate, dealing with three separate injuries, and posting his worst season since becoming an everyday player in 2017.

Taylor was a guest on Access Dodgers on SportsNetLA on Tuesday, and he talked about his struggles and his hopes for 2023.



“It’s just one of those things. I think it’s very common in baseball, not many guys do it year in and year out. And last year was the first year for me that I was really struggling to have that consistency that I’d had in years past. And my mechanics were a little out of tune all season. Constantly searching, which is, if you ask any baseball player, that’s a terrible feeling to have. And then I had some injuries that were on and off and definitely, individually a year I’d like to put behind me. And I’m really hoping to bounce back strong this year and hopefully I can put it in the past.”

Taylor had elbow surgery last offseason, the effects of which he was still feeling when the season began. The most obvious impact was defensive, as he was limited to playing only the outfield while his throwing arm recovered. But it’s hard not to suspect that the elbow issue had something to do with his skyrocketing K rate — CT3 struck out in 35.2% of his plate appearances, a full 28% higher than his career mark of 27.5% coming into the season. A fractured foot in July and a neck issue at the end of the season didn’t help, either.

The hope is that, will a full, healthy offseason to work on getting his mechanics figured out, in 2023 he can be back to being the star he was from 2017-21. He’s not a big flashy acquisition, but getting 2020 CT3 back instead of the 2022 version would have more impact on the Dodgers than most of the free agent signings we’ve seen in MLB this offseason.

Driving For Hope

Chris is on the media trail promoting his upcoming “Driving For Hope” golf event at TopGolf in El Segundo. CT and his wife Mary along with the CT3 Foundation are hosting the first L.A. edition of his annual charity golf event. Proceeds benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles supporting children battling cancer and other life-altering illnesses.

Tickets are still available here for the Thursday, January 12 event. For those that cannot attend, there will be an online auction running along with the event. Details on their site.

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Jeff Snider

Jeff was born into a Dodgers family in Southern California and is now raising a Dodgers family of his own in Utah. During his previous career as an executive at a technology company, he began writing about baseball in his spare time. After leaving corporate America in 2014, he started doing it professionally. Jeff wrote and edited for Baseball Essential for years before joining Dodgers Nation. He's also the co-host of the Locked On Dodgers podcast, a daily podcast that brings the smart fan's perspective on our Boys in Blue. Jeff has a degree in English from Brigham Young University. Favorite Player: Clayton Kershaw Favorite Moment: Kirk Gibson's homer will always have a place, but Kershaw's homer on Opening Day 2013 might be the winner.

One Comment

  1. Taylor needs to stop swinging for the fence on every pitch. Concentrate on putting the ball in play and cut down the strike outs.

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