The Royals are still searching for a reliever.
The trade deadline is fast approaching, and with the Royals having already acquired Hunter Harvey and Michael Lorenzen, they could be targeting another reliever to add to a beleaguered bullpen. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Royals are one of a number of teams interested in Marlins closer Tanner Scott.
Jim Bowden corroborated the reporting on the Royals’ interest today, writing that the Orioles, Red Sox, and Yankees were the other top teams vying for his services.
According to sources the #Orioles #Yankees #RedSox and #Royals are the four teams leading the mix of teams to acquire Tanner Scott from #Marlins but other teams also in pursuit.
— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) July 29, 2024
The 30-year-old left-hander was an All-Star for the first time this year, and has a 1.18 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 45 2⁄3 innings with 18 saves for the Marlins this year. He was perhaps better last year with a 10r strikeout in 78 innings of relief, and has seen his strikeout rate fall while his walk rate has spiked up this year to 5.3 per-nine-innings. Scott has just two blown saves all year and has not given up a run since June 13, covering his last 17 outings.
Scott earns $5.7 million this year and will be a free agent this winter. He has a groundball rate of 46.5 percent and relies on just two pitches - a four-seamer and a slider. Opponents are hitting just .100 off his four-seamer, and his slider has a 43.1 percent whiff rate.
According to reporting at The Athletic, the Marlins want multiple prospects for Scott.
Regarding the Marlins’ request for Scott, one executive said, “They are asking for multiple prospects in the top 15” of an organization’s depth chart.
The Angels traded closer Carlos Estévez - also an impending free agent - for pitching prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri, ranked #5 and #7 in Baseball America’s mid-season prospect rankings of the Phillies organization.
The Royals are desperate for late-game relief help after yet another blow up by James McArthur on Sunday, lifting his ERA to 10.57 for the month of July. Reliever John Schreiber is also expected to land on the Injured List today after suffering knee discomfort, and Hunter Harvey is day-to-day after suffering back spasms.
