Dodgers release utilityman Chris Taylor, activate Tommy Edman - ESPN

The Los Angeles Dodgers released veteran utility player Chris Taylor on Sunday, cutting ties with a longtime fixture who had been relegated to the end of the bench in recent weeks.

Taylor, a Dodger since 2016, will be taken off the roster to make room for another utility player, Tommy Edman, who was activated off the injured list ahead of Sunday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.

By releasing Taylor, the Dodgers will pay out the final year of his four-year, $60 million contract and allow him to be a free agent.

His departure comes four days after the Dodgers cut ties with longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes in order to make room for top prospect Dalton Rushing. Outside of Clayton Kershaw, Taylor and Barnes represented the Dodgers' two longest-tenured members.

The decision to release Taylor seemingly signals that Hyeseong Kim, the rookie second baseman from South Korea, will stay in the major leagues, even after Teoscar Hernandez is activated off the injured list in the coming days. Kim, a speedy left-handed hitter, is 14-for-31 since being called up from Triple-A.

Taylor has appeared in just 35 games this season and accumulated only 28 plate appearances, during which he collected seven hits and 13 strikeouts without drawing a walk. Taylor's only discernible path to playing time came as a late-game defensive replacement in left field. His opportunities for major league at-bats became so infrequent that the Dodgers occasionally had minor league pitchers make the drive from nearby Ranch Cucamonga to pitch to Taylor so he could see velocity.

Not long ago, though, Taylor was a core member of highly successful Dodger teams, a clear embodiment of the front office's infatuation with versatility. After struggling