Royals call up Samad Taylor

The Royals have called up Samad Taylor from Triple-Omaha and have optioned down Nate Eaton. Taylor was acquired from the Blue Jays last summer in the Whit Merrifield trade, but was unable to play the last two months of the season due to injury. This year for Omaha, he was hitting .304/.409/.463 with six home runs and 34 steals in 62 games.

Taylor was originally a tenth-round pick by Cleveland in 2016 out of high school in California. The next year they traded him to the Blue Jays for reliever Joe Smith. His best year in the minors came in 2021 in Double-A where he hit .294/.385/.503 with 16 home runs and 30 steals. He went unprotected and undrafted in the Rule 5 draft that winter and his numbers slumped a bit in Triple-A the next year before he was traded to the Royals and missed the second half with an oblique injury. The Royals added him to the 40-man roster last off-season.

The 24-year-old has spent most of his time at second base for Omaha, but is also capable of playing the outfield. He’s a right-handed bat with speed, which may draw some comparisons to Merrifield.

Eaton has been up and down with the Royals this year but has struggled to get going offensively. He is just 3-for-52 (.058) with 21 strikeouts and three stolen bases.