It felt unfair when the Los Angeles Dodgers inked reliever Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal this past offseason.
The 30-year-old has been nearly unhittable since 2023, going 18-11 with a 2.04 ERA, a 2.53 FIP, and 34 saves over 150 innings for the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. But, through 28 appearances for the Dodgers, he did not look like the same guy.
After Monday’s loss to the New York Mets, Scott had a 4.73 ERA and a 3.30 FIP with 29 strikeouts to four walks on the year. Those solid, albeit underwhelming considering his hefty payday, numbers are in an upswing after consecutive strong games that saw Scott go two innings with just one hit allowed, zero runs, and four strikeouts to zero walks.
Some physical tweaks could be the reason behind Scott’s latest success.
Here is what Scott had to say about his adjustments, via Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation:
Scott also talked about how he needed to close his lower half more so that he could “stay through” pitches. It seems to be working, and perhaps Scott will finally find his footing with his new club and deliver as expected.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott (66) throws during the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.
Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
Even with a laundry list of injured starters and relievers, Los Angeles still has an excellent collection of arms to get them through the regular season. Scott is not perfect, but he does have 11 saves (tied for 14th in the Majors) and remains a key fixture at the back end of this bullpen.
Both Michael Kopech and Kirby Yates will be back from injury sooner rather than later, and while Scott still deserves his save opportunities, these two will help ease the workload for the relievers.
