Grading 4 contender fits for Tanner Scott ahead of trade deadline
Tanner Scott, the Miami Marlins closer, has been one of the deadliest relievers in all of baseball this season. The southpaw currently holds a 1.18 ERA is 45.2 innings pitched. He hasn't allowed an earned run since June 13 when he allowed two runs against the New York Mets. In fact, those two runs are the only runs he's allowed over the last three months. Scott has only allowed 11 hits over the course of the last three months.
This is exactly why he's going to be the most highly sought after reliever on the market over the next few days. Just about every contending team is going to be looking at the asking price on Scott. He would improve any bullpen in the league, including the top Cleveland Guardians bullpen, who have been historically dominant.
Here are four potential contender fits for Scott, and we'll hand out grades for the fit.
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4. San Diego Padres
One of the teams that has long been connected to the Marlins closer is the San Diego Padres. San Diego has the 11th worst bullpen ERA in the entire league, sitting above a 4.00 at 4.17. Their bullpen is led by the All-Star closer, Robert Suarez, who holds a dominant sub-2.00 ERA much like Scott.
The Padres are chasing down some of the top teams in the National League and they are very obviously looking to aggressively buy in the coming days. They have plenty of holes to fill, but the bullpen is quite a glaring hole and there's no better fit for any bullpen needy team than Scott. San Diego also has a solid farm system that they could pull from to acquire his talents.
The only issue with this fit is the fact that San Diego already has a top closer in Suarez. But the thing about bullpens is that you can never have too much talent at the back end of games. Adding Scott would be expensive, but it would give the Padres two of the best options in all of baseball at the backend of games. They could effectively shorten games down to seven innings with these two to throw the 8th and 9th.
Padres trade fit grade: B-
3. New York Yankees
Out of all teams in the league, the New York Yankees may have the most to lose if they fall short in the postseason this year. If they disappoint, Aaron Boone could be out of a job as the Yankees' manager and their superstar outfielder Juan Soto could go elsewhere in order to try to compete if they aren't doing it for him.
With so much pressure on the Yankees, they need to buy big time at the deadline. They have already filled one of the holes in their lineup by making a blockbuster trade to acquire Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins. They could dip back into the Marlins' well to acquire their star closer as well.
The Yankees closer, Clay Holmes, has struggled a bit this year, even though he was named an All-Star. Almost all Yankees fans would agree that Holmes hasn't been the lock down closer that many imagined this year.
Enter Tanner Scott. Scott would slot in as the Yankees' closer, taking almost all the pressure off of Clay Holmes and improving the Yankees bullpen tremendously. He's the lefty reliever that New York desperately. If they can acquire him, they would be stealing him from some of their bigger rivals that are pursuing the same big fish.
Note: New York has reportedly been very interested in Rays closer Pete Fairbanks which could lower the chance of this happening.
Yankees trade fit grade: A-
2. New York Mets grade
The New York Mets need help in their bullpen, specifically at the back end of games. If you would have said this before the year, people would have called you crazy, but as we pass the All-Star Break, Edwin Diaz through the entire year. He's currently 12 for 17 on save attempts with an ERA near 4.00. That kind of production just isn't the recipe for World Series titles.
Scott could slot into the Mets closer spot, moving Diaz down to another high-leverage reliever, but just mainly as a setup man. Scott has been light years better than Diaz or anybody else in the New York bullpen this year.
Another wrinkle in this idea is that the Mets would be willing to spend. This season seems like their year to go all out in an attempt to win the whole thing. Their slugging first baseman, Pete Alonso, is among their expiring contracts. With so much talent set to hit free agency, the front office could very easily push all of their chips to the center of the table.
Mets trade fit grade: B
1. Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are far and away the best fit for Scott and any other reliever on the market this season. There are plenty of reasons to back this up too.
The first one is the fit. Scott fits the Orioles biggest need: bullpen help. Craig Kimbrel has done a solid job as the team's closer, but that's just not the role that he would thrive the most in at this point in his career. Kimbrel would be an elite setup man for Scott if the Orioles pull this trade off.
The next reason is how many assets the Orioles have that could get this trade done. Relievers have been incredibly expensive on the market this season and Scott is the best reliever available. He will likely net an incredible return for the Marlins and the Orioles have the best farm system in the entire game. If any team can acquire him without feeling a huge hit to their farm system, it's Baltimore.
The Orioles have also struggled as of late and they need to make improvements to their pitching. They are reportedly in the market for the top pitchers on the market, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Garrett Crochet included. Nobody fits Tanner Scott more than the Orioles.
Orioles trade fit grade: A