Tanner Scott’s problems are well known, but he plays a key role in the uncertain Dodgers bullpen

As impossible as it is, imagine a world where Tanner Scott isn’t terribly booed by his own fans.

Imagine a world where the former Shohei Ohtani Stopper resembles the reliever he was in the two seasons before signing with the Dodgers. Imagine a world where the $72 million southpaw can be counted on to come out of the bullpen in the late innings of a postseason game to take out, say, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

Imagine what that would mean for the Dodgers.

The defending World Series champions would be transformed if they could have an All-Star version of Scott as a high-leverage option for new closer Edwin Díaz. Their bullpen wouldn’t be a fatal flaw that would require minor miracles to fix. Their bullpen would be a force.

Dodgers management can imagine.

“We fully believe that Tanner will come back next year and have a great year for us and be there in the mix to pitch at the end of the games,” said general manager Brandon Gomes.

To anyone who watched Scott pitch last season, Gomes might as well have said he believed there would be no traffic around Dodger Stadium on game days.

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Scott posted an ERA of 4.74. He was charged with nine failed rescues. He was sidelined for a month due to an elbow infection. He returned in time for the postseason, but was sidelined by an abscess in his butt that required surgery. Scott himself described his performance as ‘pretty terrible’.

But Gomes’ confidence in Scott is not 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 a lot for it.”

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

Through the first two months of the season, nearly 60 percent of his throws were in the strike zone, well above the league average of 49 percent.

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

By throwing more strikes, opponents hit .182 against him with two strikes all season, compared to .107 the year before.

The changes he would have to make are small. The difference in results can be enormous. But the biggest obstacle he faces may be psychological.

When asked why he deviated from a proven approach last year, Scott replied: “Expectations.”

Expectations changed for the previously anonymous Scott when he moved to the Dodgers last season. His four-year, $72 million deal was celebrated by a fan base that just watched him pitch for the Padres and Ohtani strike out four in four at-bats 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, when he tried to be perfect. In other cases he wasn’t trying to be perfect. Nothing worked. Manager Dave Roberts said he believed Scott was dealing with physical issues 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 now.” About a week later, he wondered if he was tipping his pitches.

He sounded lost.

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

“It gives you time to think about what happened and what you need to change,” he said. “It was a blessing in disguise that it happened. It gave me time to think, and I could watch and learn.”

Díaz was given 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. “Everyone we’re adding is great. It’s going to be fun. Our bullpen is stacked.”

Especially when Scott rediscovers himself.