The Los Angeles Dodgers significantly boosted their bullpen during the offseason by signing Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million contract.
The left-hander has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball over the last few years and immediately assumed the closer role for the Dodgers. However, his early results in L.A. have been a mixed bag.
Scott has already converted 10 saves and owns a sparkling 28-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 26 appearances. But he is also giving up harder contact and has seen his average fastball velocity slightly drop from a year ago.
Scott had a disastrous outing against the New York Mets last Friday that saw him blow a three-run lead in the ninth inning despite regularly getting ahead of the count. He then failed to protect a lead on Wednesday that costed the Dodgers an opportunity to sweep the Cleveland Guardians.
Manager Dave Roberts believes in Scott’s pitches but sees him having trouble putting batters away, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“I think the stuff is still good,” manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “It’s just right now, it just seems like when there is a mistake, they find some outfield grass or put a good swing on it.”
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior acknowledged that Scott is leaving too many pitches in the middle of the zone:
“Right now, he’s just kind of living in the middle, the midline of the zone,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “You leave it in that spot, more than likely they’re gonna put a good swing on it.”
The Dodgers previously asked Scott to stay in the strike zone more often, which has resulted in fewer walks but more balls being put in play. The 30-year-old can continue being aggressive, but will need to better locate his fastball and slider to get more swings and misses.
Scott initially back from his rough appearance at Citi Field by throwing a scoreless eighth inning in the Dodgers’ 7-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Memorial Day. That was then followed by squandering a lead in the eighth inning on Wednesday.
Tanner Scott’s 2025 stats
Amid recent struggles, Scott now owns a 4.62 ERA, 3.27 FIP and 1.11 WHIP in 25.1 innings pitched this season.
Among other corrections, the Dodgers are looking to find an answer for Scott’s inability to put batters away after getting to two strikes.
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