Samad Taylor

Samad Jahad Taylor (born July 11, 1998) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals. In 2024, Taylor announced via Instagram he is expecting a kid, named Aizen, with his wife, Alexia Woodley.

Career
Taylor attended Corona High School in his hometown of Corona, California. He committed to play college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats.

Cleveland Indians
Taylor was selected in the 10th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Cleveland Indians, signed, and was assigned to the Rookie-level Arizona League Indians after signing. In 32 games, Taylor recorded a .293 batting average, one home run, and 14 runs batted in (RBI). He was assigned to the Low–A Mahoning Valley Scrappers to begin the 2017 season.

Toronto Blue Jays
On July 31, 2017, the Indians traded Taylor and Thomas Pannone to the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever Joe Smith. The Blue Jays assigned Taylor to the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays for five games before promoting him to the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians for the remainder of the season. In 54 total games played in 2017, Taylor hit .294 with six home runs and 30 RBI.

Taylor was assigned to the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts for the 2018 season. In 121 games, he batted .228 with nine home runs, 53 RBI, and 44 stolen bases. He was promoted to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2019, where he appeared in 108 games and hit .216 with seven home runs, 38 RBI, and 26 steals. During the COVID-19 pandemic-cancelled 2020 season, Taylor played 25 games for the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League. He played the entire 2021 season for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, batting .294 with 16 home runs, 52 RBI, and 30 stolen bases in 87 games, and was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star. Taylor played with the Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Winter League during the offseason, and was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons to begin 2022.

Kansas City Royals
On August 2, 2022, Taylor and Max Castillo were traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Whit Merrifield. On November 10, the Royals selected Taylor's contract to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Taylor was optioned to the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers to begin the 2023 season. In 62 games for Omaha, he batted .304/.409/.463 with 6 home runs, 37 RBI, and 34 stolen bases. On June 16, 2023, Taylor was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. The next day, Taylor made his major league debut, going 1 for 3 with the lone hit being a walk-off RBI to win the game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Seattle Mariners
On January 30, 2024, Taylor was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Seattle sent minor league pitcher Natanael Garabitos to the Royals on March 16 to complete the trade. Taylor was optioned to the Triple–A Tacoma Rainiers to begin the 2024 season.