Tanner Scott’s struggles are well known, but he’s key piece in uncertain Dodgers bullpen

Impossible as it might be, imagine a world in which Tanner Scott isn’t booed-by-his-own-fans awful. 

Imagine a world in which the former Shohei Ohtani Stopper resembles the reliever he was in the two seasons before he signed with the Dodgers. Imagine a world in which the $72 million left-hander could be counted on to come out of the bullpen in the late innings of a postseason game to shut down, say, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

Imagine what that would mean for the Dodgers. 

The defending World Series champions would be transformed if they can have an All-Star version of Scott as a high-leverage option in front of new closer Edwin Díaz. Their bullpen wouldn’t be a fatal flaw requiring minor miracles to remedy. Their bullpen would be a strength.

Dodgers management can picture it.

“Our full belief is that Tanner is going to come back and have a great year for us next year and be right there in the mix to pitch at the back end of games,” general manager Brandon Gomes said.

To anyone who watched Scott pitch last season, Gomes might as well have said he believed there wouldn’t be any traffic around Dodger Stadium on game days. 

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Scott posted a 4.74 ERA. He was charged with nine blown saves. He was sidelined for a month due to elbow inflammation. He returned in time for the postseason, only to be knocked out by an abscess on his posterior that required surgery. Scott himself described his performance as “kind of awful.”

But Gomes’ faith in Scott isn’t entirely unfounded. The velocities and spin rates of his fastball and slider were more or less what they were in 2024, when he was one of the best relievers in baseball. The Dodgers thought the problem was where the pitches were thrown. 

“I threw too many balls in the zone,” Scott said, “and paid for it a lot.”

A comparison of Scott’s heat maps from recent years backs this claim. When he was pitching for the Marlins and Padres in 2024, Scott often elevated his fastball and threw his slider just outside of the lower corner of the strike zone. With the Dodgers last year, he threw his fastball lower. Many of his sliders were inside the strike zone.

In the first two months of the season, close to 60 percent of his pitches were in the strike zone, well above the league average of 49 percent.

“I tried to do something I don’t normally do, and I didn’t play to my strengths like I had the past two years when I was really good,” Scott said. “I kind of got away from that.”

Throwing more strikes resulted in opponents batting .182 against him with two strikes over the entire season, up from .107 the previous year.

The changes he would have to make are small. The difference in results could be huge. But the greatest obstacle he faces could be psychological.

Asked why he strayed from a proven approach last year, Scott replied, “Expectations.”

Expectations changed for the previously anonymous Scott when he moved to the Dodgers last offseason. His four-year, $72 million deal was celebrated by a fan base that just watched him pitch for the Padres and strike out Ohtani four times in four plate appearances in the National League Division Series.

Suddenly, Scott was the closer for the defending World Series champions. The burden crushed him.

There were times, he said, he tried to be perfect. In others, he tried to not be perfect. Nothing worked. Manager Dave Roberts said he thought Scott was dealing with physical problems before he was placed on the injured list in mid-July.

“It was mentally exhausting,” Scott said.

That showed, Scott saying at one point late in the season, “Baseball hates me right now.” About a week later, he wondered whether he was tipping his pitches.

He sounded lost.

The time he spent on the injured list, he said, offered him a chance to regroup.

“It gives you time to reflect on what happened and what you’ve got to change,” he said. “It was a blessing in disguise that it happened. It gave me time to reflect, and I was able to watch and learn.”

Díaz was signed to a three-year, $69 million deal to do the job Scott couldn’t do, but Scott said the addition of a new closer didn’t bother him.

“That was huge,” Scott said. “Anyone that we add is awesome. It’s going to be fun. Our bullpen is stacked.”

Especially if Scott rediscovers himself.