Coming off the eighth World Series title in franchise history, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed two of the best starting pitchers available in Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, and the top reliever, Tanner Scott.
The Dodgers also re-signed Blake Treinen and Teoscar Hernández, agreed to a contract extension with Tommy Edman, and added Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim.
Snell, Edman, Hernández and Scott each received long-term deals with the Dodgers, who have been aggressive in putting the roster together for their quest to repeat as World Series champions.
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Scott’s contract with the Dodgers includes $5.25 million in deferred salary each season, trade kicker and team option for a fifth year if he suffers a specific type of injury:
Tanner Scott’s Dodgers deal also includes a club option for 2029 worth $5 million (w/ incentives) if he suffers a “qualifying injury” and isn’t traded, per source.
He gets a $3 million assignment bonus if traded.
Also, $5.25 million of his annual salary is deferred each year.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) January 24, 2025
Scott’s Dodgers contract previously had been reported as a four-year, $72 million deal with a signing bonus and unspecified deferrals.
He joins the likes of Snell, Hernández, Conforto, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani among the list of Dodgers with deferred salary in their respective contracts. It’s become a significant point of consternation for opposing teams and some media members, along with the Dodgers’ overall spending.
“We’re solely focused on the Dodgers and making this team as good as we possibly can,” general manager Brandon Gomes said after Scott’s introductory press conference.
“Our ownership group has been incredibly supportive of continuing to pour back into our fans, who have done nothing but support us. We’re solely focused on how do we make our team better and give back to the fans who have done nothing but come out to see us year in and year out.”
Is Tanner Scott the new Dodgers closer?
Scott joins a talented Dodgers bullpen that should be a strength for the team. The southpaw brings with him plenty of closing experience but that’s not necessarily going to be Scott’s set role.
Despite not being formally anointed Dodgers closer, the expectation is Scott will have ample opportunities to finish games.
“I think throughout this process, having conversations with Danny (Lehmann), and going through Tanner, and obviously Doc (Dave Roberts) and Andrew (Friedman), I think Tanner is going to get a ton of opportunities to close games,” Gomes said.
“But the biggest thing is how it all fits together to handle the backend. The main focus will be how best do we put together that bullpen down the stretch for Doc to figure out how he’s going to deploy guys, but we anticipate Tanner getting a lot of saves.”
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