The Dodgers bullpen became much more frightening with the addition of Tanner Scott, and the team plans on giving him the majority of save opportunities ahead of next season.
Just like his fellow bullpen mates in Evan Phillips and Anthony Banda, Scott’s story to success was a long time coming, as he trudged through mediocrity with the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins early in his career before fully breaking out in 2023. Since the start of 2023, Scott has developed into an elite late innings eater and leads all relief pitchers in fWAR with 4.5 over the last two seasons.
During his press conference on Thursday, Scott took the time to acknowledge the turning point in his career that helped him land a hefty $72 million contract with the Dodgers.
“When I was in Miami, Mel Stottlemyer Jr. really helped me. My first year in Miami wasn’t the greatest. We worked A LOT a lot, so I give a lot of credit to him. In ‘23 and ‘24, everything clicked and it was ‘Hey, I’m going to go out there and attack. I just want the ball. I want to win,’ and that’s my mindset every single day.”
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Roki Sasaki’s introduction to Major League Baseball will feature him as a part of a star-studded rotation that has their eyes set on becoming the first repeat champions in a quarter century. Compare Sasaki’s decision to that of Shohei Ohtani’s decision to sign with the Angels before the 2018 season, and the expectations are night and day.
Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes a column about the contrasts between Sasaki and Ohtani’s decision to enter the MLB.
We don’t know exactly what counsel Ohtani gave Sasaki, who on Wednesday was the star of the Dodgers’ latest splashy, classy introduction… If I were Ohtani trying to add Sasaki too, I’d have said this: Don’t do what I did, dude.
It’s becoming more and more likely by the day that Jack Flaherty threw his last pitch as a Dodger during Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. The right-hander appeared on the Foul Territory podcast, where he spoke about the less than favorable chances of him returning to Los Angeles.
“I’m not going back to L.A.— you can do the numbers, do the math— it doesn’t bother me. I can go elsewhere and win, and see if we can beat those guys.”