46 Beau Taylor C

Taylor re-signed Monday with the Athletics on a minor-league contract, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The contract likely includes an invitation to big-league spring training, though the 28-year-old is a long shot to crack to the Opening Day roster. Taylor will most likely be destined for the Athletics' Pacific Coast League affiliate in Las Vegas after slashing .248/.360/.348 across 431 plate appearances at Triple-A Nashville in 2018.

Taylor was outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday.

Taylor will be removed from the 40-man roster heading into the offseason. He spent seven games with the big-league squad in 2018, going 1-for-5 with a double and a walk over that stretch.

Taylor's contract was purchased by the Athletics on Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Taylor has spent the entire 2018 season at Triple-A Nashville, where he has a .248/.360/.348 slash line with 89 strikeouts in 302 at-bats. The 28-year-old is unlikely to see many opportunities behind the plate if Jonathan Lucroy and Josh Phegley remain healthy over the final month of the regular season.

Taylor is a candidate to be called up from Triple-A Nashville with Bruce Maxwell unable to travel with the team to Canada for an upcoming four-game series against the Blue Jays due to his pending legal issue, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Maxwell is yet to be sentenced for an Oct. 2017 incident that originally involved a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Although the reserve backstop reached a plea agreement on April 13, his pending sentencing leaves him ineligible to enter Canada due to their immigration policy. As a result, Taylor, who's slashing .286/.415/.364 with no home runs and 11 RBI over 25 games with Triple-A Nashville, is one potential candidate to fill in behind starter Jonathan Lucroy. If he's called up, Taylor, who's impressed with improved defense recently, would likely be looking at a 10-day stay with the big-league club at a minimum, as Maxwell would be required to spend at least that much time with the Sounds if he's sent down.