Most of the top free agents have already signed, but a few notable names remain, including Anthony Santander, Jack Flaherty and much of the relief pitcher market.
Tanner Scott leads the group of high-leverage arms looking for a new team as not just one of the top free agents, but one of the best relievers in MLB.
Due to financial limitations, it seems unlikely the San Diego Padres are able to keep the southpaw after acquiring him at the trade deadline this past season.
Scott’s market has been fairly quiet, but the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers are two teams that seem to be in the mix for his services, according to J.P. Morosi on MLB Network:
“Interestingly, there was one team mentioned that we weren’t necessarily expecting to be a heavy player in the relief market, that being the Atlanta Braves. David O’Brien reported in The Athletic recently the Braves have had some interest in Tanner Scott. And it also feels to me like the Los Angeles Dodgers could make one more big-time splash. Maybe that would be one area where they go to add a Tanner Scott from their division rival San Diego Padres.
“We’ve talked about the Padres probably not having enough financial flexibility to add Scott unless they trade someone else, like potentially Dylan Cease. We have heard a bit about Jack Flaherty and the Padres too.
“I tend to think Tanner Scott has to be that first significant domino to fall among the available relievers still out there.”
The Dodgers have been the team most connected to Scott thus far and there was previously said to be mutual interest between the two sides.
The Dodgers have been looking to add another quality relief option, and that has likely moved to the top of their wishlist with Teoscar Hernández signed and Roki Sasaki still roughly two weeks away from being able to sign.
L.A. was seemingly moving close to a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for Devin Williams before the New York Yankees got the deal done.
Scott makes sense as the logical pivot option, but if they prefer to stay away from paying top of the market value, they could look to alternative trade options or sign a lesser free agent.
Tanner Scott seeking significant contract
Scott is coming off an excellent season with the Miami Marlins and Padres that saw him post a combined 1.75 ERA, 2.92 FIP and 1.13 WHIP in 72 innings. It was the second consecutive year he recorded an ERA below 2.35 with at least 70 innings pitched.
He has been projected by multiple outlets to receive a multi-year contract with an average annual salary of around $15 million, but according to Sean McAdam of MassLive.com, Scott is seeking $80 million over four years.
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