Tanner Scott to sign with Dodgers: Los Angeles superteam adds elite reliever in $72 million deal

High-leverage left-handed reliever Tanner Scott has agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a four-year, $72 million free agent contract, Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ has confirmed. The team has not yet announced the signing.

Scott is the latest advance in a star-studded offseason for the Dodgers. More particularly, they landed Japanese right-handed ace Roki Sasakiwho will only cost them a signing bonus of $6.5 million given his age (23) and the rules regarding international players. The Dodgers also signed two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, outfielder Michael Conforto and Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim. They also re-signed Teoscar Hernández and Blake Treinen and extended NLCS MVP Tommy Edman long-term.

The Dodgers tend to stay flexible with their bullpen rather than locking someone into the closer role – 14 different pitchers earned a save for Los Angeles last year, including four pitchers with at least five saves each – so it remains to be seen how Scott will be deployed. As of now, manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen looks like this:

Pitchers outside the rotation (Landon Knack, Bobby Miller, Justin Wrobleski, etc.) could also enter the bullpen mix. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball, even though they have a lot of trouble keeping their pitchers healthy. They currently have more MLB-caliber pitchers than roster spots, and they’ll need most of them. Injuries are part of Los Angeles territory.

Last season, right-hander Scott posted a 1.75 ERA in 72 combined innings for the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, who acquired him before the trade deadline. During that span, Scott struck out 84 batters and issued 32 unintentional walks. He also made 22 saves and earned his first All-Star selection. Scott isn’t far off a 2023 season that saw him top 100 in strikeouts – a pretty significant feat for a contemporary reliever. Last season, Scott averaged 97 mph with his fastball, which placed him in the 91st percentile among major league pitchers.

Earlier in the offseason, CBS Sports ranked Scott as the No. 27 available free agent in the current class. Here is part of our article:

Scott’s last two seasons have been something to behold. In 150 innings, he had a 2.04 ERA and struck out more than 31% of the batters he faced. Not bad for someone who entered his age 28 season equipped with a 4.61 ERA. Scott has two big offerings: a heater that tops out at 97 mph and a devastating slider that has generated nearly 40 percent whiffs in 2024. He’s struggled with his command throughout his career, but otherwise he’s a compelling candidate to be known as the best and baddest Anonymous. reliever in the game.

For his career, Scott, 30, has an ERA+ of 125. Over the past two seasons, however, that ERA+ number is 224. The Dodgers have a history of improving their pitchers (Kopech last year was one of them). a notable example) and are no doubt hoping that Scott’s newer and improved version will prevail in the future.

FanGraphs estimates the Dodgers’ tax-competitive payroll at $370 million after signing Scott. That’s well ahead of the second-place New York Mets ($297 million), but it’s not much different from the $351 million payroll Los Angeles carried in 2024.