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The Los Angeles Dodgers are intent on continuing their reign of terror over Major League Baseball, and they have spent big on yet another free agent.
Relief pitcher Tanner Scott agreed to a four-year, $72 million deal with the Dodgers on Sunday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
Scott was the best reliever remaining on the free-agent market. The left-hander made his first All-Star appearance last season. Scott had a 1.75 ERA with 84 strikeouts over 72 total appearances in time split between the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres.
The 30-year-old also posted an impressive 2.31 ERA in 74 appearances with the Marlins in 2023.
Scott is the latest of several huge free-agent signings for the Dodgers, who have also added Blake Snell, Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim this offseason. As if that were not enough, L.A. also re-signed Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman and won the sweepstakes for the top prospect on the international market last week.
Coming off their second World Series win since 2020, the Dodgers have more than proven that they are in no way content with their recent accomplishments.
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Former Yankees Closer Turns Career Around with Rival Club
Rebounding from adversity is not an easy thing to do, but it seems that a former New York Yankees powerhouse pitcher has done it. Ex-Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has turned his career around completely after a bad ending in New York. The “Cuban Missile” was once seen to be a specimen of a reliever until mental and physical struggles prevailed. When discussing adversity, Chapman went through it from the start. Being a Cuban national, his baseball career was already uncertain. Chapman defected from Cuba and made his way to the United States, where he became a star with the Cincinnati Reds. The big lefty’s adversities continued, as he was faced with a severe injury after being hit in the head with a line drive back to the mound. He then signed a huge deal with the Yankees in 2015 and became a superstar. The left-hander spent seven total seasons with the Yankees in two stints. Some were memorable, some were forgettable. Chapman’s last few seasons in the Bronx were not ones to remember. It is now 2025, and he is reborn as a trustworthy closer in Boston. From the Bronx to Boston: Aroldis Chapman’s Career Resurgence Aroldis Chapman was a three-time All-Star with the Yankees. His role as a closer was solidified, and in all three of those All-Star seasons, Chapman recorded 30-plus saves. Where did things go downhill? Well, in two instances: when hitters figured out his pitch repertoire, and when his maturity got in the way of his performance. Chapman was a rocket fastballer, which is why he was labelled a “missile.” He got up to 102 mph, and stayed almost consistently in the triple-digits. At one point, it seemed that his sole reliance was on his velocity, which didn’t last long. 102 mph in was 111 mph out, if caught flat in the zone, which was typically the case. In 2021 and 2024, his hard-hit percentage was over 40%. Command was also an issue for the left-hander, as wild pitches and bases-on-balls were consistent. Chapman maintained a walk percentage above 14% for five seasons dating back to 2018. He was not only with the Yankees in this span, but also spent time with the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Chapman’s maturity was testing the Yankees organization. The structured environment was breached many times by immature and selfish decisions by Chapman. The closer got a tattoo in-season, which caused an infection, disallowing his activity. He was also defiant, deciding to skip mandatory team workouts based on his own thought process. Chapman was later disregarded and put up on the trade market. Fast forward to the present day, where Chapman closes for the Boston Red Sox, and has made changes. Chapman’s Present-Day Self is Valuable Now 37 years of age, Chapman’s overall character has leveled out to be a competitor, good teammate, and effective closer. He has been kept in line by a strict Red Sox environment. His performance has followed suit as well. From 2018 to 2024, Chapman’s walk rate averaged around 14%. In 2025, he currently holds a 7% rate, slashing that average in half. He maintains his velocity, increasing up to 105 mph and clocking consistently at 103 mph. Age has not ruined this feature. Chapman has improved his repertoire, commanding the fastball better, staying in and out of the zone. He also incorporated a splitter and is utilizing his sinker and slider more effectively. Chapman currently holds a 1.04 ERA with 26 saves, 74 strikeouts, 14 walks, and a 4-2 record in 52 innings pitched. The southpaw closer has revived his profile and is in the running for a postseason opportunity on the dark side (for Yankees fans, anyway) of the American League East.
Jerry Jones again proves he shouldn't be making decisions for Cowboys
When it comes to major decisions for the Dallas Cowboys it is always going to be Jerry Jones' way or the highway. The problem with that philosophy, however, is that the Jerry Jones way has proven to be a failure for more than 30 years. It's long past time for him to give up control of the team and hire a real general manager to fix the mess he keeps creating. All of that is back on the front-burner again following Thursday's conclusion of the Micah Parsons saga, with the All-Pro superstar getting traded to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. In a vacuum, it's not a terrible return. Clark is a legitimate starter on the defensive line -- and a very good player -- and two first-round picks are always going to have some value. But professional sports does not exist in a vacuum. There is always more context at play, and the context here is that an in-his-prime superstar (Parsons), that is one of the biggest game-changers in the league, and a player that was trying to make it work in Dallas, is now playing for somebody else because Jones could not get out of his own way. From the very beginning Jones bungled this contract negotiation, doing the one thing he does best — making himself and Cowboys drama the focal point, and what is best for the team a secondary matter. It's the Jerry Jones way. And it's a losing way. This situation did not have to end up the way it did. There was a perfectly reasonable outcome that would have seen Parsons remain in Dallas throughout the prime of his career and continue to be a focal point of its defense. All it would have taken was a common sense approach and an owner whose concern for the organization outweighed their ego. Every major negotiation with the Cowboys ends up getting drawn out into chaos. It's all part of Jerry's desire to keep him and his team at the top of the headlines. It usually results in him having to pay a player more money than he otherwise would have. And even that may not be a problem for Jerry because he gets to talk about how he negotiated and paid out this huge contract. This time, however, the plan finally burned him. If you want to reach, or if you want to carry Jones' water for him, you might be able to put together a somewhat coherent argument as to how this can work out. Maybe those two first-round picks will pan out in the future. Maybe Clark is a great fit in the middle of Dallas' defensive line. Maybe. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The more maybe's you throw in, the more likely it is they are not going to all pan out. Clark is good, but he's not Parsons. He is not as disruptive, he is not as good and he is going to be 30 years old this season while Parsons is still only 26. Two first-round picks looks good on paper, but the Packers are a pretty good team — and will be even better with Parsons — and those picks will likely be in the back half of the first-round. You hope to find a good player with at least one of them, if not both. The odds that either one is as good as Parsons are long. Since winning their last Super Bowl during the 1995 season the Cowboys have consistently been one of the NFL's most mediocre franchises. Never truly awful, but never good. They will make the playoffs semi-regularly, but never go anywhere. They have the longest NFC Championship game drought in the conference. They never get close to the Super Bowl and have not been bonafide contenders in literal decades. A sane owner would look at those results and would have fired multiple general managers for that run. Jones has no one to fire because he is the general manager. And he likes the way he is doing things. The problem is it doesn't work. It hasn't worked. And it won't work. History has proven that.
Post-Ashton Jeanty era gets off to brutal start for No. 25 Boise State
There had to be at least some expectation that the Boise State Broncos were going to take a small step backwards in 2025. They probably just did not expect it to happen so soon in the season, and so emphatically. The No. 25 ranked Broncos were absolutely humiliated on Thursday night, losing 34-7 to an unranked South Florida team that was just 7-6 a year ago. It was a rude awakening for what might be ahead for Boise State following the departure of Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty's historic season helped carry the Broncos to an 12-1 regular season, with the only regular season loss being a three-point defeat to Oregon early in the season. They ended up in the College Football Playoff where they lost their first game to Penn State. But with Jeanty on to the NFL (a first-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders) there was always going to be a huge hole for them to replace. Not only in terms of production and skill, but also in their identity. They had none of that power-running identity on Thursday. Not only did they allow 34 consecutive points to South Florida, but the Broncos also managed to rush for only 122 yards on 38 carries, coming out to just 3.2 yards per attempt. They averaged 6.1 yards per carry in 2024, tied for the second-highest mark in college football. On one hand, losing an early season game isn't the end of the world, especially in the era of expanded playoffs. Boise State could still run the table the rest of the way with a very manageable schedule and play its way back into playoff contention. It's also not uncommon for teams to struggle early in the season. There is no preseason in college football and everybody is just coming in cold right into real games. Sometimes teams take a while to get moving. But this is not a particularly good South Florida team, and for Boise State to come out so flat and be so uncompetitive in the opener is a bad sign for what might be ahead.
Commanders' biggest winner from final roster cuts is painfully obvious
The Washington Commanders have the NFL's oldest roster this season. Not entirely surprising when one considers the inept drafts over Ron Rivera's four years at the helm, which sparked a downward spiral that eventually landed the franchise Jayden Daniels. Not a bad consolation prize, but it's forced Adam Peters into a change in strategy. But for his ambitious plans for progression to bear fruit, Washington's young players must also make a lasting contribution. And there was one big winner from the team's final roster cuts who's coming to the fore at the best possible time. Chris Rodriguez Jr. has gone from undesirable to undeniable with Commanders Plans change quickly in the NFL. That was all too evident in Washington's running back room, which began with Brian Robinson Jr. being cast into the shadows and traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a sixth-round pick. That was somewhat surprising, but it indicated a level of faith in the options already around. Among them was Chris Rodriguez Jr., who team insider Zach Selby believes is in line for a substantial role when all hope seemed lost once upon a time. Chris Rodriguez Jr.'s emergence was another surprise from camp. He showed growth in the offense after being cut and sent to the practice squad last season, and that manifested in the form of a 40-yard run against the Bengals. The Commanders have plans for him as their short-yardage and goal line running back, but he could be primed for a more robust role.Zach Selby This is better than even the brightest optimist envisaged for Rodriguez heading into Washington's preparations for the new campaign. The sixth-round pick got a new deal this offseason but found himself way down the pecking order. After taking advantage of every opportunity and displaying the correct resolve, he's gone from an afterthought to an important part of the team's plans. Rodriguez has momentum on his side. But make no mistake, what comes next is even more crucial for his future career outlook. The Commanders are giving him a shot. Considering Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, and seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt are also on the squad, he must deliver. Otherwise, the Kentucky product could fall out of favor all over again. Hopefully, it doesn't come to that. Rodriguez must keep running with the same urgency and aggression. He must continue to exploit small creases for big gains. He must also become a dominant red-zone presence when touchdowns are in sight. If Rodriguez can do that, the Commanders' decision to bring him along for the ride will be vindicated. It could also earn him a longer-term commitment from the franchise next spring along the way. More Commanders news and analysis
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