Phillies designate Tayler Scott for assignment

The Phillies have designated right-hander Tayler Scott for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to righty Taijuan Walker, whose four-year contract has now been formally announced by the club.

Scott, 30, was a September waiver claim out of the Padres organization who never appeared in a big league game for the Phils. He appeared in eight games with San Diego last season, pitching to a 6.75 ERA with a 13-to-6 K/BB ratio in a dozen innings of work. That marked his first MLB action since his 2019 debut, when he pitched 16 1/3 innings between the Mariners and the Orioles.

One of two South African-born players in MLB history, Scott spent the 2020-21 seasons with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He returned to North American ball on a minor league deal with the Padres last offseason and pitched to a 3.76 ERA with a terrific 30.4% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in 40 2/3 Triple-A frames before his call  to the Majors. In all, he’s been tagged for 35 runs in 28 1/3 big league innings but carries a 4.33 ERA and 26.2% strikeout rate in 168 1/3 innings of Triple-A work.

The Phillies will have a week to trade Scott, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him.