This offseason, the New York Yankees have been focused on strengthening their bullpen, highlighted by the addition of two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams to handle closing duties. Meanwhile, Luke Weaver, who impressed in the ninth inning last season, has been shifted back to the eighth inning. However, the Yankees might look to further reinforce their bullpen, with two prominent Yankees bloggers and podcasters suggesting the team could create an even more formidable back-end by signing another free agent reliever: left-hander Tanner Scott.
Scott, who recorded a career-high 22 saves in 2024—18 with the Miami Marlins and 4 with the San Diego Padres after a midseason trade—would add more depth to the bullpen. Known for his power fastball, which can reach up to 97 mph, Scott ranked in the top 1% of MLB pitchers in preventing hard contact, according to Statcast. He allowed batters an average exit velocity of just 84.3 mph and limited hard-hit balls to 27.5% of the time. In the postseason, Scott impressed with the Padres, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings over four games, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out five.
Both the Fireside Yankees podcast and the Bleeding Yankee Blue blog have strongly advocated for adding Scott to the Yankees’ bullpen. Bleeding Yankee Blue wrote that a trio of Scott, Weaver, and Williams closing out games would be “pure dominance” and urged the team to act quickly to sign Scott. Scott is coming off a one-year, $5.7 million deal with the Marlins, and Spotrac projects his free-agent market value to be around $65.5 million for a four-year contract.
With this move, the Yankees could solidify their bullpen and make it one of the most formidable in the league, further boosting their chances for success in the upcoming season.
Leave a Reply