With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Royals have already acquired Hunter Harvey and Michael Lorenzen and could be looking to acquire another relief pitcher to add to their struggling relief staff. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Royals are one of several teams interested in Marlins closer Tanner Scott.
Jim Bowden wrote today that he corroborated reports that the Royals are interested, and that the Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees are also top teams competing for his signature.
The 30-year-old left-hander was named an All-Star for the first time this year and is pitching with a 1.18 ERA, 53 strikeouts in 45 2⁄3 innings and 18 saves for the Marlins this year. He was arguably better last year, striking out 10 in 78 innings of relief. His strikeout rate has dropped this year and his walk rate has skyrocketed to 5.3 per nine innings. Scott has missed out on just two saves this year and has not allowed a run in 17 straight games dating back to June 13.
Scott is making $5.7 million this year and is set to become a free agent this winter. He has a 46.5 percent ground ball rate and uses only two pitches, a four-seam fastball and a slider. Opponents are batting just .100 against his four-seam fastball and whiffing 43.1 percent against his slider.
According to a report from The Athletic, the Marlins want multiple prospects for Scott.
“They’re looking for multiple prospects in the top 15 of their roster,” one executive said of the Marlins’ request for Scott.
The Angels traded closer Carlos Estevez, also a soon-to-be free agent, for pitchers George Klassen and Samuel Aldeguelli, who were ranked fifth and seventh in the Phillies organization in Baseball America’s midseason pitching prospect rankings.
The Royals are in desperate need of late-inning relief after James MacArthur had another mishap Sunday, lifting his ERA to 10.57 in July. Reliever John Schreiber is also expected to be placed on the injured list today with a sore knee, and Hunter Harvey is day-to-day with back spasms.