Tanner Scott hasn’t been the same pitcher since signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After putting up a 1.75 ERA last season across 72 innings with the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, Scott is throwing a 4.56 ERA through 25.2 frames of work in L.A., along with five blown saves in 15 opportunities.
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The All-Star does have 10 saves on the year, which leads the ball club, and has an absurd 28 strikeouts to three walks, but 13 earned runs in 27 appearances wash away the promising strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Manager Dave Roberts spoke honestly about his new closer and how he isn’t quite meeting the expectations rolled out for him.
“I think, performance-wise, he hasn’t performed the way any of us expected, him included,” Roberts said.
The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett wondered if the four-year, $72 million contract that Scott signed this offseason was the reason for these heightened expectations and diminished margin for error.
“Yes, it does. And you can look at any big contract and that’s unrealistic,” Roberts said. “I think for me we signed him to take the baseball, to pitch in whatever role. He’s doing that. And also the point is, we’re betting on him not just for the season but for the postseason.
“I do think a guy that has taken the baseball deserves some grace in the infancy of his contract. Because he’s not perfect. He’s never going to be perfect.”
Perfection is a difficult notion to chase, but hopefully, the 2024 version of Scott is easier to catch up with.
Scott acknowledged the obvious detriments to his game this year, but knows that there is still plenty of opportunity to turn things around.
“There’s been some good. There’s been some bad. I like seeing more good, obviously,” he said. “But if I was only seeing good, baseball wouldn’t be baseball, right?”
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Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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