Tanner Scott was worth Orioles’ pursuit, but not for 4 years

For parts of five seasons, Tanner Scott was an enigmatic reliever for the Orioles. The left-hander threw incredibly hard and at times was difficult to hit, but more often he was wild.

Scott, who reportedly agreed on a four-year, $72 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, had one excellent stretch with the Orioles. In the pandemic-shortened 60-game season of 2020, Scott had a 1.31 ERA in 25 games. He allowed only 12 hits in 20 1/3 innings.

That was good enough for me to give Scott a third-place vote for Most Valuable Oriole, which was won by Anthony Santander, who signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with Toronto.

The 2020 sample size was a small one, and in 2021, Scott’s ERA ballooned to 5.17.

In his time with the Orioles, the 30-year-old sixth-round pick in 2014 had a 4.73 ERA and walked 5.5 batters per nine innings while striking out 12.

Scott had three accomplished pitching coaches from 2017-2021 — Roger McDowell, Doug Brocail and Chris Holt, all of whom had success with other pitchers.

Just before the 2022 season began, the Orioles traded Scott and right-handed reliever Cole Sulser to Miami for three nondescript minor leaguers.

That move opened a spot in the bullpen for Félix Bautista, who seized the opportunity and worked his way up to closer by the end of that season.

Scott went on to Miami, and under another excellent pitching coach, Mel Stottlemyre Jr., was the Marlins’ closer and had a 4.31 ERA and 20 saves, though he walked 46 batters in 62 2/3 innings, 6.6 per nine innings.

He got better in 2023 with a 2.31 ERA, 12 saves and 104 strikeouts in 78 innings. Scott’s walks fell to a career-low 2.8 per nine innings.

Last season, just after he received an All-Star Game invitation and had a 1.18 ERA and 18 saves for the Marlins, Scott was traded to San Diego. In his two months with the Padres, Scott saved four more games and had a 2.73 ERA and a walk rate of 3.1 per nine innings.

He was the most coveted reliever on the free-agent market.

The Orioles reportedly showed interest in him but signing a reliever to a four-year contract isn’t wise. A two-year contract would have been a good investment, but there aren’t many relievers who are worthy of four years.

For most of his career, Scott has pitched out of the spotlight, though he had six scoreless postseason appearances (5 1/3 innings) in 2023 and 2024.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias signed another veteran reliever, 35-year-old Andrew Kittredge this month, but that was only for one-year and $10 million with a 2026 option.

Elias recognizes that the Orioles need a stacked bullpen. While they hope Bautista has healed from October 2023 Tommy John surgery, he might not be as dominating as he was in ’23, when he was the best reliever in the American League.

With Kittredge, Bautista, Yennier Cano, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, Keegan Akin and Cionel Pérez, the Orioles’ bullpen could be good. With Scott, it could have been even better.

Scott could have been a dominant late-inning left-hander, and he’s better than lefties Akin, Pérez and Soto, but he’s not worth four years.

During his years with the Orioles, the team lost more than 100 games three times, and he wasn’t pitching in pressure situations. It will be interesting to see how he handles the pressures of pitching for the Dodgers, whose closer last year was another former Oriole, Evan Phillips.

For fans who wonder if letting Phillips and Scott go was a mistake by the Orioles, it was hard to picture them being dominant closers when they had their issues in lesser roles in Baltimore.

Relief pitchers, particularly closers, are notoriously inconsistent, and some, including Pérez and Danny Coulombe, found success with the Orioles that eluded them elsewhere.

Watching Scott’s potential diminished by wildness with the Orioles was painful, but if he handles the big stage in Los Angeles, maybe he’ll show he was worth that four-year contract.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.