The New York Yankees have hit a rough patch after starting the season strong. After starting the season 49-21, they are 9-19 since. While the offense has stumbled, ranked No. 19 in runs in July, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal suggests the Yankees will look to help their bullpen first. Bleacher Report’s Tyler Ward predicted that the team will trade for ‘electric’ reliever Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins.
“The first thing’s going to be their bullpen,” said Rosenthal on July 6. “It was really good in the first 6-8 weeks, but it was a little bit of smoke and mirrors. There’s not enough swing-and-miss in that bullpen. We’ve talked about this. So, they, like every other contender, will be targeting relievers.”
Scott signed a one-year, $5.7 million deal with the Marlins, after winning his arbitration case in the offseason. The 29-year-old will be a free agent after the season.
Scott’s Fit for the Yankees
“The veteran southpaw option in the bullpen for the Miami Marlins has been having himself a tremendous walk year of a season,” said Ward.
Ward noted that Scott is having a great year. He has a 1.34 ERA and 10 strikeouts per nine innings. Scott was named an All-Star for the first time this season. The Yankees bullpen ranks No. 16 in strikeouts per nine innings with 8.80. Since June 15 the Yankees have the No. 17 bullpen ERA at 4.24.
However, Ward also noted Scott’s struggles with walks. He has 5.6 walks per nine innings. He is in the oneth percentile for walks.
“Scott needs to work on that command and making sure he isn’t walking everyone and their mother,” said Ward. “When he is not walking everyone and their mother Tanner Scott has been absolutely electric.”
Ward finished off by calling Scott the “hottest commodity” among left-handed relievers at the trade deadline. The Yankees could use a trusty arm like Scott in the bullpen. The deliver has only allowed earned runs in three outings this season.
“Outside of Clay Holmes and the newly dominant Luke Weaver, who does Boone truly trust? Ian Hamilton, coming off his 2023 breakout, has been inconsistent,” Rosenthal wrote for The Athletic on June 10. “The same is true of lefties Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez, both of whom were acquired from the Dodgers during the offseason, and Tommy Kahnle, who is frequently injured.”
Marlins Open for Trades
According to the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish, “about a dozen” teams have contacted the Marlins about Scott, who is “likely to be traded soon.”
The Marlins have already indicated their intentions when it comes to the trade deadline. With the deadline still a ways away, the Marlins traded two-time All-Star and batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres.
Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix indicated the club’s thought process when asked about trading away a proven player for players with the potential to succeed.
“It’s part of the value of the player for the rest of the season when unfortunately our record is what it is and the fact is that we’re unlikely to make the playoffs this year,” said Bendix, according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson. “Trading that for future value seems like the right thing for this organization right now.”
Ward noted that the Yankees have the assets to get a trade for Scott done and it will come down to whether general manager Brian Cashman will “pull the trigger.”
