![\"Orioles,](\"https:\/\/cdn.mlbtraderumors.com\/files\/2024\/10\/USATSI_24441742-1024x656.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTanner Scott is headed to Chavez Ravine, as he became the Dodgers\u2019 latest big-ticket acquisition when he signed a four-year, $72MM deal earlier today.<\/p>\n
The Cubs, Braves, Mets, and Yankees had all been linked to Scott\u2019s market earlier this winter, but various reports from this afternoon indicated that the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Red Sox also had interest in the left-hander\u2019s services.<\/p>\n
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The willingness of the Dodgers and other teams to give Scott four guaranteed years seemed to be the dealbreaker for at least a couple of teams.<\/p>\n
The Baltimore Banner\u2019s Andy Kostka and MassLive.com\u2019s Chris Cotillo wrote that the Orioles and Red Sox, respectively, each had misgivings about that long of a commitment.<\/p>\n
In particular, Cotillo poured cold water on speculation that Boston offered Scott a longer deal with a larger average annual value, as a source tells Cotillo that such reports of a bigger offer were \u201cvery inaccurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The O\u2019s still at least \u201cremained engaged\u201d on Scott \u201cas of a few days ago,\u201d Kostka wrote, which could speak to the team\u2019s familiarity with the reliever.<\/p>\n
Of course, Scott began his career as a Baltimore draft pick and spent his first five MLB seasons in an Orioles uniform, posting a 4.73 ERA over his 156 innings out of the team\u2019s bullpen. The big strikeout numbers and potential was clearly already present for Scott during his time in Baltimore, though it wasn\u2019t until the 2023 season (when Scott was with the Marlins) that he finally seemed to solve his longstanding control problems.<\/p>\n
Baltimore\u2019s one-year, $10MM deal with Andrew Kittredge from earlier this week also seems to generally line up with Kostka\u2019s timeline, so it isn\u2019t surprising that the O\u2019s moved away from Scott after landing another high-leverage reliever at a much lower price tag.<\/p>\n
Kittredge projects as the Orioles\u2019 top setup man in front of closer Felix Bautista, who is returning after a year recovering from Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n
Kittredge is the highest-profile reliever the O\u2019s have acquired this winter, while the Red Sox brought in Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson on guaranteed contracts, and a few other veterans on minor league deals.<\/p>\n
As Cotillo notes, the Red Sox had talks with Scott, Kittredge, and several other relievers who have since signed contracts, as Boston continues to look for help at the back end of its bullpen.<\/p>\n
Liam Hendriks is penciled into the closer\u2019s role, though some depth is a necessity since Hendriks (like Bautista) also missed 2024 while rehabbing from a TJ procedure.<\/p>\n
Toronto fans won\u2019t be pleased to hear the Blue Jays lost another target to the Dodgers, but the New York Post\u2019s Jon Heyman indeed reports that the Jays \u201cwere among [the] teams in on Scott.\u201d The depth of the Blue Jays\u2019 interest isn\u2019t known, and since the Jays landed Jeff Hoffman last week, it seems possible that the Hoffman signing was a pivot away from Scott\u2019s escalating market.<\/p>\n
That said, the Blue Jays have already been more aggressive than usual in adding relief pitching, which isn\u2019t a surprise given the dire performance of their 2024 bullpen.<\/p>\n
Toronto has already added Hoffman, Nick Sandlin, and old friend Yimi Garcia as part of the bullpen overhaul, and depending on whether or not the Jays acquire another starting pitcher, Yariel Rodriguez might be part of the relief mix as well if he isn\u2019t used as the fifth starter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tanner Scott is headed to Chavez Ravine, as he became the Dodgers\u2019 latest big-ticket acquisition when he signed a four-year, $72MM deal earlier today. The Cubs, Braves,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n