The Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen, much like their starting rotation, has been decimated by injury already this year. Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol have yet to throw a pitch in the regular season (though Kopech appears to be nearing a return), while Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates also find themselves on the Injured List. Amidst all that mayhem, it's a good thing that Andrew Friedman had the werewithal to lock down the ninth inning by handing star lefty Tanner Scott a four-year, $72 million contract, right?
Well, about that. Scott blew his fifth save of the season in a 7-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday afternoon, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk while recording just two outs. His ERA is now up to 4.62, and while ERA isn't everything for a reliever, it's safe to say that this isn't the shut-down closer the Dodgers thought they were paying for.
The season is still young, and it's worth noting that Scott did fall victim to some bad batted-ball luck; Cleveland, as is their wont, somehow turned two ordinary ground balls into two crucial base hits. If this were the first time that Scott had cost L.A. a win, it would be easy enough to write it off and move on.
But this is instead the continuation of a season-long trend, one that should have Dodgers fans concerned — not just for 2025 but for the next three seasons after that.
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Tanner Scott hasn't been the pitcher the Dodgers thought they were getting
Investing significantly in any reliever is always a risky proposition; it's the most volatile position group in the sport, and that goes double for those already over the age of 30 (Scott will turn 31 in July). But Scott was 1) a lefty and 2) coming off two lights-out seasons with the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, respectively, and he boasted some of the best pure strikeout stuff in the sport. Plus, these are the Dodgers we're talking about; if any team could afford to splurge a little on a luxury, surely it was Los Angeles.
Flash forward a few months, though, and all that enviable depth has just about evaporated up and down the pitching staff. The Dodgers have been forced to dip way into their org chart to field a functional rotation, and the bullpen hasn't been much better. Amid all that turmoil, it sure would be nice if the players you're paying like stars would, you know, play like stars.
Scott's fastball/slider combination still looks as explosive as ever. But his K rate is down, and he's getting hit way harder than he has in the past; it's clear that batters simply aren't as flummoxed by him as they used to be, and as a two-pitch pitcher, that's a problem. It's also worth pointing out that Scott earned that contract despite a track record that was decidedly mixed: While he was excellent in 2023 and 2024, he'd struggled for several years before that.
Far be it from me or anyone else to quibble with the Dodgers' internal data; they're among the most cutting-edge organizations in the sport, and if they saw enough to believe in Scott moving forward, that counts for a lot. Right now, though, he doesn't look anywhere near like the guy we grew accustomed to seeing, and things could only get worse as he pushes into his mid-30s. The Dodgers of yore could maybe withstand a blow like that; given their current health, though, his regression could prove fatal.