Phillies: Three center fielders available to trade for

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 04: Albert Almora Jr. #5 of the Chicago Cubs embraces Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubs in the dugout for his solo home run in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on August 04, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 26: Michael A. Taylor #3 of the Washington Nationals looks on during batting practice prior to Game Four of the 2019 World Series against the Houston Astros at Nationals Park on October 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

Michael A. Taylor

Would the Phillies try to pull off a deal with not just the reigning World Series champions, but their division rivals?

To start off, this is not the same Michael Taylor the Phillies traded to Toronto in 2009 for Roy Halladay. The Phillies Michael Taylor was traded with Travis d’Arnaud and Kyle Drabek to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay and cash. The Blue Jays went on to swap Taylor that same day to the Oakland Athletics for Brett Wallace.

Back to Michael A. Taylor, the Nationals sixth round pick in 2009 who has bounced in and out of their starting lineup for the last couple of years.

Philadelphia Phillies /

Philadelphia Phillies

Taylor is a career .240 hitter with 48 home runs in 536 career games with the Nationals since 2014. He’s appeared in at least 100 games in three of his six big league seasons, but has never hit better than .271 when he also hit a career-best 19 home runs.

Historically Taylor hits lefties better with a .256 batting average, 22 points higher than he hits against righties. Last year he did even better, hitting .278 against southpaws in the regular season.

Right now the reigning World Series champions have Victor Robles slated to start in center field with Adam Eaton and Juan Soto flocked on either side in the outfield. That leaves Taylor with a limited amount of playing time in 2020 and as a potential trade candidate.

Taylor is in the final year of team control with Washington making $3 million, a modest price for a fourth outfielder on a team ready to win right now.

Will Washington be looking to swap him and get something in return before he potentially hits the open market, or are they keeping him on with Eaton’s injury history and the hopes of winning another World Series?