Tanner Scott it will probably be sold in the next four days. He and him Carlos Estévez are the top two rental breakers on the market. The Marlins are willing to listen to anyone on the roster and already traded one key bullpen piece last night.
Scott has been a popular target for the likes of the Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles and Phillies since mid-June. Interest in the hard-throwing southpaw extends beyond that four-person group. Indeed, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote Thursday night that the Royals are also looking at Scott.
Kansas City general manager JJ Picollo has spoken several times about wanting to add strength to the bullpen. The Royals did just that a few weeks ago, coming up Hunter Harvey from the Nationals just before the draft. Apparently they still work in the relief market. Harvey had established a setup position in Washington and looks set to stick in that role with his new team.
James McArthur caught the ninth inning. It hasn't always been smooth sailing, as he has blown five of 22 saves (including his most recent one in Wednesday's loss to the Diamondbacks). The 27-year-old righty has allowed five earned runs on nine hits in 40 1/3 innings. He's getting ground balls at an excellent 53.8% clip and has more control, but his 18.5% strikeout rate is below average. McArthur doesn't get nearly as many strikeouts as usual, so the Royals could look to push him into the middle innings.
Scott is very culturally close. He pairs a 97 MPH heater with an upper-80s slider that misses a lot of bats. Scott has struck out over 29% of opponents over 45 2/3 frames this season. He struck out more than a third of the batters he faced last year. He tends to have less-than-stellar moments but has such high-octane stuff that he's been a big presence behind the Miami bullpen. After posting a 2.31 ERA in 78 innings last year, he has allowed 1.18 earned runs per nine innings this season.
The 30-year-old southpaw is making $5.7MM in his final year of arbitration. There is approximately $2MM in long-term operating obligations. Scott may be looking at a three- or four-year deal next winter, so it's highly unlikely he'll stay in Miami past the deadline.
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