Right-hander Tayler Scott has made the Astros’ Opening Day roster, reports Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee but will be selected to the 40-man roster, with lefty Bennett Sousa heading to the 15-day IL and righty Lance McCullers Jr. heading to the 60-day IL to create roster space for him. McCullers is recovering from forearm surgery and was already known to be out for the early portion of the season. Sousa is dealing with shoulder inflammation.
Scott, 31, has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons, spending time with the Mariners, Orioles, Padres, Dodgers, Red Sox and A’s. He’s only pitched 46 big league innings, but Houston will still remarkably be his seventh team.
The first South African-born player in MLB history, Scott signed a minor league deal over the winter and had an excellent spring showing. In 11 innings, he notched a tidy 2.45 ERA with 10 punchouts against four walks while keeping the ball on the ground at a huge 55.2% clip.
Scott has yielded 46 runs in his 46 MLB innings, but teams have been continually drawn to his strong minor league track record and the high-end spin rate on his slider. Scott has a solid 3.83 ERA in 206 2/3 Triple-A frames, having punched out nearly 27% of his opponents against a 9.1% walk rate at that level.
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