Tanner Scott Outlines Plan for Bounce-Back Season With Dodgers

Sep 23, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Part of the Los Angeles Dodgers emphatically looking to improve a World Series-winning roster last offseason was signing Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million contract.

Scott joined the Dodgers after splitting 2024 with the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, and an especially dominant showing against Shohei Ohtani in the National League Division Series.

But Scott's first season with the Dodgers was easily the worst of his career. He lost hold of the closer role and did not pitch for the team in the postseason. That partly was due to having an abscess removed from his backside, at which point the Dodgers replaced Scott on their Wild Card Series roster.

"Getting back healthy was huge for me," Scott said at DodgerFest. "Let's see where it goes this year."

Why Tanner Scott struggled in 2025

When the southpaw was on the mound, he surrendered a career-worst 11 home runs. That total matched the combined number of homers opponents hit off Scott from 2022-24.

"I threw too many balls in the zone and got hit a lot, so it was terrible," Scott said of his 2025 season.

From 2023-24, Scott had a strikeout rate that exceeded 31%, induced groundballs at a rate of more than 50%, and his hard-hit rate was below 27%. He excelled at inducing whiffs and getting batters to chase out of the zone.

Jul 6, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Tanner Scott (66) looks on as Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (21) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

But that came with a high walk rate, which the Dodgers looked to mitigate. That was accompanied by a notable increase in Scott's zone rate. He did manage to get batters to swing at pitches outside of the zone at a 37.2% rate, which was a career-best mark.

However, that was accompanied by 53.2% contact rate when opponents swung at pitches outside the strike zone. The second-highest percentage Scott has ever allowed.

"I tried doing something that I didn't normally do, and I didn't play to my strengths the past two years. And the past two years before that were really good. I kind of got away from that," Scott explained.

Tanner Scott aware of needed corrections

Although Scott was disappointed to not contribute to the Dodgers winning the World Series last year, he deemed that time off a "blessing in disguise" that allowed him to "reflect" and learn."

One of the key takeaways the 31-year-old found was needing to be more unpredictable.

"Just not being as predictable, using my putaway pitches when I need them, and not going two strikes and letting off a hit," Scott said. "I mean, that was terrible."

One focus during offseason throwing sessions has been reverting back to using both sides of the plate and relying on strengths. Scott believes wanting to make an immediate impression with the Dodgers also contributed to struggling.

"Expectations, trying to be perfect. You try to be perfect, you're kind of not perfect. So just be myself," he said. "Trusting my stuff, trusting the coaches. We've got a great staff and I have great teammates, so it's going to be fun.

"I'm pretty confident on it. Hopefully it was a fluke year, and this year back to where I was in '23 and '24."