Chris Taylor found a way to immediately haunt the Yankees after they passed on him

Will the New York Yankees regret passing on the chance to swap Chris Taylor in for Pablo Reyes after the Los Angeles Dodgers set the veteran free? That has very much yet to be determined, and Taylor's past 1.5 seasons make him feel more like a less familiar version of DJ LeMahieu than a difference maker.

But will his presence haunt the Yankees immediately after they opted not to pursue him to fortify the bench? Yes and yes.

Taylor, who subtracted 0.5 bWAR from the Dodgers in just 28 games played this season, is a right-handed bat with positional versatility, which is technically atop Brian Cashman's shopping list at the moment. He's also performed woefully, and got on New York's bad side by inexplicably saying that his dribbler forced the Yankees to "sh*t down their leg" in last October's World Series Game 5.

The Yankees, despite a league minimum cost and cash eaten by the Dodgers, stayed away this weekend during his brief free agency. Instead, he'll head to ... the Angels, where he'll start his first game as a Halo opposite the Yankees on Monday night.

New York Yankees will see former Los Angeles Dodgers player Chris Taylor on Monday, his first game with the Angels

The Yankees can, and should, do better than Taylor when the market opens up just a bit this July. They'll be welcoming Jazz Chisholm Jr. back from an oblique injury in the days to come, at which point either Reyes/Oswald Peraza will be DFA'd or Jorbit Vivas will be demoted.

From that point forward, another Yankees infielder will more than likely be on the chopping block when the trade deadline rolls around (if not two, given Giancarlo Stanton's expected return, too).

The Yankees seem content to delay that decision past the expiration point on Taylor's free agency, and that ... seems wise. The one thing New York doesn't need is Taylor in center, where they have several preferable options.

But that's exactly where he'll be when they come to bat in the top of the first inning on Monday night, fresh off being a World Series agitator and rubbing it in the Yankees' faces after the Fall Classic ended. Payback should be nigh, but we'll soon see if it actually is.