The Chicago Cubs have been in the market to add to both their bullpen and their starting rotation this offseason. They added to the latter by inking left-hander Matt Boyd on a two-year deal and right-hander Colin Rea on a one-year deal to possibly go with a six-man rotation to start the season.
The Cubs added a few pieces to their bullpen by adding former Minnesota Twins lefty Caleb Thielbar to be a weapon for them, as well as minor league signings of righties Ben Heller and Phil Bickford for depth.
The Cubs have been in on the two best reliever options available in Carlos Esteves and Tanner Scott to pair with their emerging closer Porter Hodge in the backend of their bullpen. Recently a development has occurred in one of these closers markets.
The Chicago Cubs lost Tanner Scott to the Dodgers
The Dodgers signed Scott to a four-year deal worth $72 million per Mark Feinsand on X:
BREAKING: Tanner Scott and the Dodgers have agreed to a four-year, $72 million deal, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 19, 2025
Scott had an outstanding 2024 season that knotted him his first All-Star appearance. In 72 appearances Scott had a 9-6 record with a 1.75 ERA with an ERA+ of 252, 84 strikeouts, and 22 saves in 72 innings. Going deeper into Scott’s performance from last season when looking at his Baseball Savant page it is hard to point out which area he excelled with the page just bursting with red. To name a few, Scott ranked in the 100th percentile for exit velocity off the batter bat (84.3pmh), the 96th and 95th for his pitching and fastball run value, and the 92nd percentile for whiff and barrel percentage.
The Dodger bullpen and what the Cubs do from here
Scott will join a shutdown Dodger bullpen along with Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, and Anthony Banda to name a few names.
Now that Scott is off the board that just leaves Carlos Estevez left as the only top late-inning relieve available on the market. I can assume since the Cubs lost out on both Jeff Hoffman, who signed with the Blue Jays, and now Scott will heavily pursue Estevez to secure him.
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