Tanner Scott, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ relief pitcher, stirred the hot stove this offseason with rumors linking him to a pinstriped future with the New York Yankees. Scott, however, has cleared the air, saying the Yankees never seriously pursued him.
"I heard at the beginning they were interested," Scott shared candidly. "And then after the Devin Williams trade, I figured I probably wasn’t going to hear from them."
Indeed, when the Yankees snagged Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, it was clear the Bronx Bombers were taking a different path in bolstering their bullpen.
Devin Williams, known for his electric changeup that has baffled batters since his Brewers days, initially anticipated a move to the Dodgers. "I kind of thought I’d be going to L.A.
That’s what I was being told," Williams lamented, reflecting on the trade that swung him to New York instead. With a touch of surprise, he noted, "The Yankees snuck in there under the table and got the deal done."
Pitching coach Matt Blake weighed in on the Yankees' offseason machinations, casting a wide net in the search for pitching prowess. "I don’t know to what extent we were going to go to get Scott," Blake remarked thoughtfully. "But obviously, anyone with that level of talent in the free agent market, you’re going to be interested."
Scott, having settled in with the Dodgers, initially dazzled this season — clocking a sharp 1.74 ERA over his first 20 appearances. Yet, consistency has eluded him lately, with his ERA inflating to 4.56 amidst struggles that included three blown saves in the stretch leading to their face-off against the Yankees.
Across the diamond, Williams has found the transition to the Yankees mound challenging. Initially touted as the team’s future closer, his tenure hit a bump following a blown save against the Toronto Blue Jays. With the change in roles on April 27, Luke Weaver took over the closing duties.
As the Yankees and Dodgers prepare to clash in the series finale on June 1, it's a matchup infused with intrigue and a 7:10 p.m. first pitch that promises more than just another game — it's a narrative of what-ifs and newfound paths for both Scott and Williams as the MLB season unfolds its drama.
