Tanner Scott was not on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster for the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, however, it wasn’t due to performance.
Scott was replaced on the NL Division Series roster ahead of Game 4 due to an emergency abscess excision surgery on his lower body. According to MLB rules, a player must miss the next round of the postseason if they are removed from a roster mid-series due to injury.
That made Scott unavailable for the NLCS, but he is now once again eligible to be on the roster for the World Series.
Although it would have been easy for the Dodgers to just shut down Scott for the remainder of the season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he’s an option to join the team for the Fall Classic.
“I wouldn’t close that door,” Roberts said after the injury news was revealed. “I think obviously the way that the rules are structured, he won’t be available for the CS. But I still feel that the World Series, if we’re fortunate enough to get there, earn our way there, then he’ll be available.”
Scott ended up being replaced by Justin Wrobleski, who has yet to pitch this postseason. The Dodgers also only relied on four relievers in the NLCS: Anthony Banda, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki.
Scott did not pitch during the Wild Card Series or NLDS while he was active, either. Although he may have been used in Game 3 of the NLDS, Scott was not at the ballpark that day due to his injury.
The 31-year-old is coming off the worst season of his career, which resulted in a 4.74 ERA across 57 innings with 10 blown saves. The Dodgers previously signed Scott to a four-year, $72 million contract in the offseason, with a club option for 2029.
Will Tanner Scott be on Dodgers World Series roster?
Even though Scott is eligible for the roster, it seems unlikely the Dodgers would actually add him.
Aside from his struggles this year, Scott has not pitched in an MLB game since Sept. 26, which would be just shy of one month when the World Series begins on Friday, Oct. 24.
It would make no sense for the Dodgers to bring him back for the World Series with all that time missed, and they already have three left-handers ahead of Scott in the bullpen with Banda, Vesia and Jack Dreyer.
In addition, both the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays have more right-handed heavy lineups. So adding another righty would make more sense than Scott, if the Dodgers elect to expand their bullpen group at all.
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