Twins hires Michael A. Taylor as outfield instructor

The Twins have signed a recently retired outfielder Michael A. Taylor as a field instructor, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He will not be a member of the big league coaching staff, but will spend several weeks in camp this spring visiting the Twins’ minor league affiliates to work with their emerging outfielders through the 2026 season.

Taylor, 34, retired after the 2025 season. He played in parts of twelve Major League seasons and spent the 2023 season as a member of the Twins, hitting .220/.278/.442 with a career-high 21 home runs. Taylor spent his final season in 2025 with the White Sox and also played with the Nationals, Royals and Pirates (under new Twins skipper Derek Shelton). He retired as a career .232/.288/.379 hitter with 109 home runs, 128 steals, 156 doubles and 15 triples in 3,801 Major League plate appearances.

Overall, the production was below average, but Taylor’s calling card has always been his defense and baserunning. He played 7,473 innings in center field in his Major League career, posting excellent marks in both Defensive Runs Saved (83) and Outs Above Average (58). His work in the corners was more limited, but also above average, by both measures. In total, Taylor finished his playing days with 97 DRS and 61 OAA in just under 9000 defensive innings. He scored 128 steals in 163 attempts – a 79% success rate.

Taylor won “only” one Gold Glove in his big league career, although that is due to his frequent status as a fourth outfielder. His penchant for strikeouts (and therefore batting average/on-base percentage) kept him from amassing enough innings in the outfield to get attention in most seasons. But in terms of speed, Taylor is one of the elite defenders of this generation – in any position. From the moment of his debut in 2014 until his last game at the end of this season, only six players collected more DRS than his 97: Kevin Kiermaier, Nolan Arenado, Andrelton Simmons, Mookie Betts, Jason Heyward And Matt Chapman. His 61 OAA ranked him 12th among all major league players in that same window.

While the role with the Twins is relatively limited, Nightengale suggests the idea is to give Taylor some experience working with younger players as he assesses whether to pursue a second act in baseball as a coach. For now, a Twins organization with a long line of plus defensemen in center field — including Taylor briefly — will have one of the better outfield defensemen in recent memory working with its young players in an effort to continue that trait.