Dean Taylor (baseball)

Dean Taylor (born April 19, 1951 in Brawley, California) is a retired front office executive in Major League Baseball who most recently served as the Vice President of Baseball Operations/Assistant General Manager for the Kansas City Royals.

Taylor began his major league front office career in 1981, working as the Administrative Assistant of Minor League Operations for Kansas City. Prior to that, he was a general manager for four years in the minor leagues. From 1982 to 1985, he was Assistant Director of Scouting and Player Development for the Royals. He served as Assistant to the General Manager of the Royals from 1986 until early 1990. In 1990, he was named as Manager of Baseball Operations for the Major League Baseball Commissioner's Office. In 1991, he became the Assistant General Manager of the Atlanta Braves and contributed to eight consecutive National League Eastern Division titles and the 1995 World Series Championship. On September 21, 1999, he was hired as the Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, a position he held until September 2002. He spent the 2003 season as a consultant for the Los Angeles Dodgers before being named as Assistant General Manager of the Cincinnati Reds in December of that year. In June 2006, he was selected to serve as Vice President of Baseball Operations/Assistant General Manager for the Kansas City Royals. The Royals announced his retirement from baseball in January 2015, but he continued to serve the Royals as a consultant through the conclusion of the 2015 World Series. He was a member of the MLB Safety and Health Advisory Committee and served as Chairman of the MLB Rules and Administration Committee during his tenure as the Brewers' general manager.

Taylor graduated from Mercersburg Academy in 1969 and Claremont McKenna College in 1973. He is a 1975 graduate of the Ohio University Sports Administration Program and was selected as the program's 2001 Distinguished Alumnus.