Dodgers Pitcher was Never Really Going to Yankees

Despite offseason speculation that Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Tanner Scott might end up with the New York Yankees, he says the club was never serious about signing him.

In a recent interview with the Daily News, Scott said that he only heard about the Yankees' interest in him, and never heard from them directly.

“I heard at the beginning they were interested,” he said. “And then after the Devin Williams trade, I figured I probably wasn’t going to hear from them.”

Devin Williams, who played for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2019-2024, was picked up by the Yankees in December. Conversely, he had expected to go to the Dodgers.

“I kind of thought I’d be going to L.A. That’s what I was being told,” Williams said, following the trade. “The Yankees snuck in there under the table and got the deal done.”

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake noted that the team had been interested in Scott, but that anyone looking for pitching talent last offseason would be.

“I don’t know to what extent we were going to go to get him,” Blake said. “I don’t know where he fit amongst the other collection of guys we were talking about in the budget, but obviously, anyone with that level of talent in the free agent market, you’re going to be interested.”

Scott's performance for the Dodgers has been spotty lately, amid an otherwise intimidating Dodgers lineup. He was dominant at the beginning of the season, with a 1.74 ERA in his first 20 starts, but has been more inconsistent of late. The 31-year-old has a season ERA of 4.56, and blew three saves in the five games leading up to the recent series against the Yankees.

Williams is not having a banner season either. Part of a trade between the Yankees and the Brewers that included Caleb Durbinn and Nestor Cortes Jr., he was expected to be the Yankees closer this season. Two days after blowing a save against the Toronto Blue Jays, Williams was removed as the closer on April 27, who replaced him with Luke Weaver.

The Yankees are up against the Dodgers on June 1 for their last game in this series; the first pitch is at 7:10 p.m.

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