Benjamin Alan Taylor (born November 12, 1992) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is currently a free agent. He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Career

Boston Red Sox

Taylor attended Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, graduating in 2011. He attended

Chattahoochee Valley Community College Chattahoochee Valley Community College is a public community college in Phenix City, Alabama. It serves residents of Russell County and parts of Bullock, Lee, Macon, and Barbour Counties, as well as the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area. Si ...

for two years, and the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

for the final two years of his

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

career. The

selected Taylor in the seventh round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks f ...

. He signed and made his professional debut with the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

, and after compiling a 1.80 ERA in ten relief innings, he was promoted to the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in July where he was 0-2 with a 3.40 ERA in ten starts. In 2016, Taylor pitched for the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

and the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League, going a combined 1-2 with a 2.96 ERA in 36 games (three starts). Taylor was on the Red Sox' Opening Day 25-man roster for the 2017 season. He was optioned to the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League on April 13, and he spent the remainder of the season between Pawtucket and Boston. In 12 games for Pawtucket he posted a 2.70 ERA, and in 14 games for Boston, he was 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA. On May 17, 2017, Taylor recorded his first MLB save during a 5-4 extra inning win over the Cardinals. Taylor was designated for assignment on February 18, 2018.

Cleveland Indians

On February 25, 2018, Taylor was claimed off waivers by the

. He was designated for assignment on March 29, 2018. After clearing waivers, Taylor was outrighted to the Columbus Clippers on April 2, 2018. The Indians purchased Taylor's contract and added him to their active roster on May 2, 2018. The Indians designated Taylor for assignment on March 28, 2019 following the selection of Hanley Ramirez’s contract. Taylor was released on April 2.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On April 11, 2019, Taylor signed a minor league deal with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

. He elected free agency on November 7, 2019.

Chicago Cubs

On December 14, 2019, Taylor signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs and was invited to major league Spring Training. Taylor was released by the Cubs organization on May 28, 2020.

Detroit Tigers

On February 19, 2021, Taylor signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers organization. On March 30, 2021, Taylor was released by the Tigers.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Ben 1992 births Living people Baseball players from Montgomery, Alabama Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Cleveland Indians players South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Lowell Spinners players Greenville Drive players Salem Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Pawtucket Red Sox players Columbus Clippers players Reno Aces players Chattahoochee Valley Pirates baseball players