by Cary Osborne
Among the many targets the Dodgers had this offseason was an elite relief pitcher to add on top of what was a clear strength of theirs in the 2024 postseason.
High on that list was left-hander Tanner Scott.
Scott agreed to a four-year contract with the Dodgers on Thursday.
Scott is most recently remembered for what he did against Shohei Ohtani in the 2024 National League Division Series pitching for the Padres. He struck Ohtani out four times in four plate appearances.
Ohtani saw 20 pitches against Scott in the four plate appearances — 18 strikes, 18 of the pitches were four-seam fastballs and Scott dialed it up to 100.1 mph on one of the pitches. He struck out Ohtani one time on this slider:
https://medium.com/media/d440b4ec6c2530cfc0d055042d6fd1bb/href
Scott, who will enter his ninth Major League season in 2025, has a rising fastball that ranked in the 95th percentile in run value in 2024. He ranked in the 98th percentile in breaking ball run value in 2023 with his high-velocity slider.
The package has made him one of the more difficult relievers in the big leagues to hit over the last two seasons with Miami and San Diego. Opponents hit .186 with a .254 slugging percentage against Scott in the last two seasons.
Left-handers were 9-for-68 (.132) against him last season with four extra-base hits — all doubles.
Scott is 30 (will turn 31 on July 22), and in eight seasons with Baltimore (2017–2021), Miami (2022–2024) and San Diego (2024) has a career 3.56 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 486 strikeouts in 368 2/3 innings. His career walk rate is 4.9 walks per nine innings, but in 2023 he cut it down to 2.8 with Miami.
Since 2023, he has a 2.04 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and has averaged 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
Scott had a 1.75 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 72 games in 2024 with San Diego and Miami. He was an All-Star for the first time as well.
He converted on 22 of 24 save opportunities last season but was more of a high-leverage situation reliever than a closer, having entered in the seventh inning seven times, the eighth inning 26 times, the ninth inning 32 times and extra innings seven times.
That fits hand-in-glove with what the Dodgers’ approach was in 2024 — though Evan Phillips took the bulk of the closing opportunities.
The Dodgers now have five relief pitchers who averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings last season — left-hander Alex Vesia (11.8), Michael Kopech (11.7), Blake Treinen (10.8), Scott (10.5) and Phillips (10.4).
Twelve relievers appeared in at least 50 games last season and had an ERA under 2.00. The Dodgers now have three of them — Scott (1.75), Vesia (1.76) and Treinen (1.93).
Great Scott: The Dodgers add top reliever to an already stacked bullpen was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.