Teams looking for an everyday center fielder in free agency are down to . The 2021 Gold Glove winner is arguably the best unsigned outfielder overall, making it a surprise that he remains on the market into March. Clearly, teams have yet to meet the asking price set by Taylor and his camp at ALIGND Sports Agency. While the specific ask isnt known, reports that Taylor views himself comparatively to fellow glove-first center fielders and . Those players signed one-year pacts for $10.5MM with the Blue Jays and Mets, respectively, earlier in the offseason. Its not an unreasonable comparison. Taylor is coming off a better offensive season than Bader had in 2023. He only hit .220 with a .278 on-base percentage, but he slugged a personal-high 21 home runs over 388 plate appearances for the Twins. Bader had a similarly paltry on-base mark but managed just seven homers in 344 trips to the plate between the Yankees and Reds. Kiermaiers offensive profile is built far more around contact skills than Taylors is. His .265/.322/.419 showing was slightly superior to Taylors batting line. By measure of wRC+, Kiermaier was four percentage points better than a league average hitter a season ago. Taylor was four points below par. While thats not a huge gap, Kiermaier has a multi-year track record of roughly average offensive results. Taylors 2023 hitting production was his best in six years. Teoscar Hernandez Jersey All three players are easy plus defenders in center field. Kiermaier is among the best defenders of his generation. Statcast graded him 12 runs above average in a little le s than 1000 innings last season. Bader rated as +8 runs in just over 750 frames, while Taylor checked in seven runs above par in nearly 1000 innings. All three players have battled injuries and spent at least a minimal amount of time on the IL a year ago. The 29-year-old Bader has a clear age advantage over Kiermaier and Taylor, both of whom are approaching their mid-30s, although thats not as big a factor on a one-year contract. Its easy to see why Taylor would put himself in the same conversation as those other players. That said, its difficult to imagine him landing a comparable contract at this point of the offseason. The market generally isnt kind to middle-tier free agents who remain unsigned into Spring Training. A number of teams have indicated theyre up against the player payroll theyre prepared to carry into the upcoming season. At points this offseason, Taylor has drawn reported interest from the Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Angels, Pirates, Reds, Blue Jays and the incumbent Twins. A handful of those teams instead addre sed the outfield in other ways. The Dodgers brought back . That signing was in conjunction with a trade shipping to Minnesota, e sentially ending the chance of Taylor returning to the Twin Cities. Toronto retained Kiermaier to play center field. The Red Sox, Reds, Pirates and Angels could still benefit from a right-handed complement to their projected starting outfield. Theyd probably all view Taylor as more of a fourth outfielder than an everyday center fielder, however. San Diego stands as the cleanest fit to offer him regular run in center field. Yet given their organizational payroll constraints, its unlikely theyre willing to offer a salary in line with the Kiermaier and Bader deals. Kevin Brown Jersey