MLB free agency is the slowest-moving free agency of all the major professional sports in the United States. It began last Monday and every name is still up for grabs. This is a problem Rob Manfred needs to fix, but it’s a problem for another day.
Due to the molasses-like speed of MLB free agency, there are plenty of players available for the Phillies to sign in areas they need help in. One area the Phillies need to address is relief pitching. With Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez currently free agents, a hole in the bullpen needs filling. One free agent pitcher they can sign was their top trade target at this year’s deadline.
Tanner Scott
Tanner Scott, a sixth-round pick in the 2014 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles, is a 30-year-old lefty from Ohio. He made his Big League debut with the Orioles in 2017 and played five seasons with them before being traded to Miami. He spent 2.5 years in Miami before being traded to San Diego this past trade deadline.
According to Baseball Savant, he has two main pitches plus one pitch he used just once this season. His fastball, which he uses 59% of the time, averages 97 MPH and is his most effective pitch. He threw his fastball 689 times this season, only allowing one home run off of 18 hits. Scott’s second pitch, a slider that averaged 88.5 MPH, was used 40.7% of the time this season. He threw the slider 473 times in the 2024 season, only allowing two home runs off of 27 hits. These two pitches were very effective this season, and while relievers are usually a roller coaster in terms of performance, I believe they’ll continue to be effective.
Across the two teams Tanner Scott played for this season, he inherited 19 runners and didn’t allow any of them to score. Every runner he allowed was his own. He was lights out the entire season. His 36 walks this season were third amongst relievers that pitched 60 or more innings. His 1.75 ERA ranks sixth amongst qualified relievers according to Fangraphs.
Should the Phillies sign him?
I do not think the Phillies will be able to retain Estévez and Hoffman, so they should do everything they can to acquire Tanner Scott.
Scott is coming off of his first all-star appearance and is arguably the best free-agent reliever on the market. He is a lefty, which the Phillies need, and he is consistent. His performance in the playoffs, while a small sample size, would be welcomed in the Phillies’ bullpen. He has pitched only 5.1 innings in the postseason across six games due to the lack of success of his former teams, but he hasn’t allowed a run in any of his outings. He would fit right in with the dominant bullpen the Phillies have managed to build over the last several years.
Can the Phillies sign him?
It is unlikely the Phillies keep both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez on the roster. With that in mind, the reigning NL East champs are sure to go after the top relievers on the market, and Tanner Scott fits exactly what the Phillies will be looking for. They targeted him at the deadline and I don’t see them ignoring him in free agency.
I believe they will be one of the top candidates to land him, perhaps even landing him. He makes perfect sense for the Phillies, and the Phillies make sense for him. The Phillies have the funds to acquire his services. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden predicted Tanner Scott will sign with Philadelphia for $60 million across four years. That $15 million a year AAV puts him only behind Josh Hader ($19M) and Edwin Diaz ($20.4M) for the highest-paid relievers. Scott has certainly earned that given his last few outstanding seasons and the Phillies have shown they aren’t shy to throw big contracts at high-caliber players.
A mix of Matt Strahm, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Scott, and Orion Kerkering after Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, and whoever the fifth starter will be is sure to win you a lot of games. I believe they will keep either Estévez or Hoffman, which will only make the pitching more lethal. Not many batters will be able to do damage against the starting rotation, let alone the bullpen.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
