Veteran righty Tayler Scott elects free agency

Right-hander Tayler Scott, who was designated for assignment by the Astros a week ago, has cleared waivers but has rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency. He has that right as a player with a previous career outright. Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle was among those to relay the news.

Scott, 33 in June, had the best season of his career in 2024. Prior to that, he was a journeyman, spending years bouncing around to various affiliated clubs, indy ball teams and even spent a season in Japan. He signed a minor league deal with the Astros going into 2024 and made the Opening Day roster. He then posted a 2.23 earned run average across 68 2/3 innings on the year. His 12.4% walk rate wasn’t great but he managed to punch out 25.2% of opponents.

There was probably a bit of luck in there. His .230 batting average on balls in play and 84.9% strand rate were both on the fortunate side. Still, his 4.13 FIP and 4.04 SIERA suggested he could be a serviceable big league arm even if the baseball gods stopped treating him so nicely.

He wasn’t able to carry that forward into 2025. The Astros kept him around but he posted a 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 innings. His fortune flipped, as his .313 BABIP and 65.2% strand rate this year have been on the unlucky side. He also hasn’t done himself any favors with a 20.5% strikeout rate and 15.4% walk rate.

That performance understandably nudged him off the Astros’ roster. He is out of options, so they had little choice but to designate him for assignment. The fact that he cleared waivers suggests that no other club wanted to give him a roster spot either.

Based on his solid performance last year, he should be able to get a minor league deal somewhere. That could be a reunion with the Astros but he’ll also have the chance to explore opportunities with the 29 other clubs.