Taylor Davis Motter (born September 18, 1989) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, and in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

Kiwoom Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the sou ...

Amateur career

Motter graduated from

Palm Beach Gardens Community High School Palm Beach Gardens Community High School is a public magnet high school for grades 9–12 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The school mascot is the Gator. It was built in 1968 as a public high school. The original school was demolished and a new ...

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Miami. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 59,182 at the ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

Conway, South Carolina Conway is a city in and the county seat of Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 24,849 at the 2020 census, up from 17,103 in the 2010 census, making it the 18th-most populous city in the state. The city is part of ...

. In three seasons with the Chanticleers (2009–2011), he appeared in 187 games (185 starts) and had a .303

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 18

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 110

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs) with a .482

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. He helped lead Coastal Carolina to three consecutive

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

baseball championships, three NCAA Regional appearances, and one NCAA Super Regional appearance (2010). While only hitting .256 with no home runs and three RBIs in 13 Big South tournament games, Motter, in 13 NCAA Regional/Super Regional games, hit .333 with three home runs and nine RBIs while compiling a .622 slugging percentage. In 2010, Motter played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. He was drafted by the

in the 17th round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the fi ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

In 2011, Motter played in

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

with the

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Ta ...

and

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which ...

. He spent 2012 with Bowling Green, 2013 with the

Gulf Coast Rays The Florida Complex League Rays are a minor league baseball team in Port Charlotte, Florida, competing as a Rookie-level team in the Florida Complex League as an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional ba ...

and

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

, 2014 with the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

and 2015 in Triple-A with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. In 2014, he was the MVP of the

Southern League All-Star Game The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in t ...

after going 3-for-3 with a

. In 2015, Motter was named team MVP of the Durham Bulls after batting .292 and leading the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

in doubles (43) and extra-base hits (58). The Rays added Motter to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the 2015 season. Motter was called up to the major leagues on May 15, 2016. He recorded his first major-league hit the next day in his first at bat, off of

J. A. Happ James Anthony Happ (born October 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He won the World Series as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, and was an Major League Basebal ...

of the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. The following game, he hit his first major-league home run, off of Toronto's

Drew Storen Drew Patrick Storen (born August 11, 1987) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, and Cincinnati Reds. The Nats sel ...

. Motter made 33 appearances with the 2016 Rays, batting .188 with two home runs and nine RBIs.

Seattle Mariners

On November 18, 2016, Motter and

Richie Shaffer Richard Michael Shaffer (born March 15, 1991) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays. Since retiring from baseball, he is a live video gaming pe ...

were traded to the

for

Andrew Kittredge Andrew Michael Kittredge (born March 17, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals. Amateur career ...

, Dalton Kelly, and

Dylan Thompson Dylan Thompson (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional football former quarterback who is the senior director of team support and advancement for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college foot ...

. During 2017, Motter played in 92 games for the Mariners, batting .198 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs. He also played 25 games in Triple-A with the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

, where he had a .350 average. Early in the 2018 season, Motter split time between Tacoma (37 games, .197 average) and Seattle (seven games, .267 average).

Minnesota Twins

On May 28, 2018, Motter was claimed off waivers by the

. He appeared in nine games with the Twins where he batted .053 (1-for-19); he also played for two Minnesota

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

s. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on July 24, sent outright to Triple-A on July 27, and released on August 22.

Detroit Tigers

On March 6, 2019, Motter signed a minor-league deal with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

organization. He played in 10 games for the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

, where he hit .148/.286/.222 with no home runs and 2 RBI. He was released by Detroit on May 14.

New Britain Bees

On May 21, 2019, Motter signed with the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

of the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 34 games, he batted .282/.396/.496 with five home runs and 28 RBI.

Oakland Athletics

On June 25, 2019, Motter's contract was purchased by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

organization and he was assigned to the Double-A

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, which ope ...

. With Midland, Motter played in 60 games while batting .213/.300/.358 with eight home runs and 26 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 4. In November 2019, Motter was selected by the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the G ...

of the Atlantic League in the dispersal draft of the New Britain Bees, as the Bees moved to the

Futures Collegiate Baseball League The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league that began play in 2011. Entering the 2025 season, the league has two active franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and ...

and had held rights to Motter within the Atlantic League.

Kiwoom Heroes

On December 12, 2019, Motter signed with the

of the

on a $350,000 contract. In 10 games with the Heroes in 2020, he batted .114 (4-for-35). Motter was placed on waivers by the team on May 29 after being sent down to their farm team earlier in the month. Motter also played five games and batted .444 (8-for-18) during 2020 with the Jersey Wise Guys of the

All-American Baseball Challenge The All-American Baseball Challenge was a six-team recreational baseball league formed in July 2020 in the New York City metropolitan area. Local ownership quickly organized this pop-up league in response to the cancellation of the 2020 Frontier Le ...

, a six-team recreational league formed in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Colorado Rockies

On March 3, 2021, Motter signed a minor-league contract with the

. After playing in 67 games for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

, hitting .335 with 24 home runs and 57 RBIs, Motter's contract was selected by the Rockies on August 10, 2021. In 13 games for the Rockies, Motter struggled to a .150 average (3-for-20) without a home run or RBI. On August 30, 2021, Motter was designated for assignment by the Rockies.

Boston Red Sox

On September 2, 2021, Motter was claimed off of waivers by the

. Two days later, Motter was added to Boston's active roster. After appearing in three games for Boston, he was designated for assignment, then sent outright to the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. Th ...

. On October 5, Motter elected free agency.

Cincinnati Reds

On April 14, 2022, Motter signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. However, on April 22, he left the team after signing a minor league contract with the

organization. He returned to the Major Leagues when he joined the Reds on May 20. He appeared in two games, going 1-for-6 at the plate, and was returned to Triple-A on May 24. Motter was released by the Reds organization on July 21.

Atlanta Braves

On July 29, 2022, Motter signed a minor league deal with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. He played in 42 games for the Triple-A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

to finish the year, hitting .259/.372/.578 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. Motter elected free agency following the season on November 10.

St. Louis Cardinals

On November 18, 2022, Motter signed a minor league deal with the

. On March 25, 2023, the Cardinals announced that Motter had made the Opening Day roster after an impressive spring, and formally selected his contract to the 40-man roster. Motter appeared in 7 games with St. Louis, hitting .222/.300/.333 across 20 plate appearances. He was designated for assignment on April 23, after

Paul DeJong Paul Sterling DeJong (; born August 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue ...

was activated off of the injured list. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

on April 25. After electing free agency, Motter re-signed with the Cardinals on a major league contract the following day. He made one appearance, going 0-for-2 against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

, before he was designated for assignment again on May 6 when

Tres Barrera Felipe Jesus "Tres" Barrera III (born September 15, 1994) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardin ...

was added to the roster. He again cleared waivers and was sent outright to Memphis on May 8. On July 23, Motter was selected back to the active roster and slotted as the starting second baseman in that day's game against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. Motter was designated for assignment again on September 5. He once again cleared waivers and was sent outright to Memphis on September 7. On October 2, Motter elected free agency.

Staten Island FerryHawks

On April 21, 2024, Motter signed with the

Staten Island FerryHawks The Staten Island FerryHawks are an American minor-league professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Staten Island. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the

. In 28 games for the FerryHawks, Motter hit .340/.434/.632 with eight home runs and 24 RBI.

Leones de Yucatán

On June 5, 2024, Motter signed with the

of the

. In 40 appearances for Yucatán, he slashed .303/.352/.566 with 11 home runs, 31 RBI, and two stolen bases. Motter was released on January 8, 2025.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Motter, Taylor 1989 births Living people Baseball players from West Palm Beach, Florida Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball infielders American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Tampa Bay Rays players Seattle Mariners players Minnesota Twins players Kiwoom Heroes players Colorado Rockies players Boston Red Sox players Cincinnati Reds players St. Louis Cardinals players Coastal Carolina Chanticleers baseball players Harwich Mariners players Princeton Rays players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Gulf Coast Rays players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players Bravos de Margarita players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Durham Bulls players Yaquis de Obregón players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Tacoma Rainiers players Rochester Red Wings players Toros del Este players Erie SeaWolves players New Britain Bees players Midland RockHounds players Estrellas Orientales players Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Worcester Red Sox players Gwinnett Stripers players Louisville Bats players Staten Island FerryHawks players