Royals trade outfielder Michael A. Taylor to the Twins and shortstop Adalberto Mondesi to the Red Sox

The Kansas City Royals traded Michael A. Taylor to the Minnesota Twins and shortstop Adalberto Mondesi to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday in separate transactions. According to mlb.com, the Royals received left handed pitcher Josh Taylor in the deal with the Red Sox, and minor league pitchers Steven Cruz and Evan Sisk in the deal with the Twins. The Royals also will acquire a player to be named later in the Red Sox deal.

Adalberto Mondesi

The native of Los Angeles, California had a very unproductive season with the Royals in 2022, as for the third time in his Major League Baseball career, he was under the Mendoza Line. He only batted .140 with zero home runs and three runs batted in. Mondesi’s season was over in May when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

Mondesi previously only batted .185 with the Royals in 2016 and .170 with the Royals in 2017. Known for his speed, he led Major League Baseball with 10 triples in 2019 and 24 stolen bases in 2020. Mondesi has spent his entire seven-year Major League Baseball career with the Royals from 2016 to 2022. He had one at bat in the 2015 World Series which the Royals won over the New York Mets, and struck out.

Josh Taylor

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Taylor pitched three seasons with the Boston Red Sox as a left handed reliever from 2019 to 2021. In 2021, he pitched in 61 games and 47 2/3 innings pitched, and had a record of one win and zero losses, with one save, and an earned run average of 3.40. Taylor had 60 strikeouts and gave up 45 hits, 18 earned runs, 23 walks and had a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.43. Taylor’ missed all of 2022 with a back injury.

Michael A. Taylor

The best baseball player of the three, Michael A. Taylor, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, played for the Washington Nationals from 2014 to 2020 (won a World Series in 2019), and the Royals the last two years. In 2022, he batted .254 with nine home runs and 43 runs batted in. During 124 games, 456 plate appearances and 414 at bats, Taylor scored 49 runs and had 105 hits, 10 doubles, three triples, four stolen bases, 35 walks, 148 total bases, two sacrifice bunts, and three sacrifice flies. He was hit twice, and had an on base percentage of .313 and a slugging percentage of .357.