Evan Phillips Details His Recruitment of Tanner Scott to Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2024 World Series title likely attracted free agents to the franchise this offseason. But, for right-handed reliever Tanner Scott, encouragement from a former teammate could have been the deciding factor in his signing.
Scott, who the Baltimore Orioles drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB draft, played alongside reliever Evan Phillips in Baltimore from 2018-2020. The Atlanta Braves traded Phillips and four other prospects to the Orioles at the 2018 trade deadline, uniting Scott and Phillips for the first time.
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After two and half seasons, Phillips signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in Aug. 2021. But, the Rays designated Phillips for assignment 10 days later.
The Dodgers claimed Phillips off waivers, and the right-hander has been in Los Angeles ever since. Phillips stayed in contact with Scott, despite playing on separate teams.
“We would just talk kind of naturally about my time with the Dodgers and how much I’ve learned and grown from being a Dodger,” Phillips said to Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain at spring training.
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Scott spent the rest of the 2021 season with the Orioles before Baltimore traded him at the last minute to the Miami Marlins in the offseason. Then, the Marlins traded Scott to the San Diego Padres at the 2024 trade deadline.
Scott elected free agency this offseason for the first time in his career, creating the possibility for a potential reunion with Phillips.
“He had the choice this offseason about where he wanted to go, and I just extended you know any kind of help I could,” Phillips said to McKain. “I would tease him here and there and say, ‘Hey man, are we gonna be throwing partners again?’”
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Scott ultimately decided to sign a four-year, $72 million contract with the Dodgers in January. The 2024 NL All-Star will be the Dodgers’ primary closer in 2025.
Dave Roberts Made Surprising Comments on Manny Machado Ahead of Spring Training Clash
The Los Angeles Dodgers will face the San Diego Padres in spring training on Sunday, marking the first game between the two division foes since the Dodgers came back against the Padres to win the National League Division Series last October.
During that series, tensions rose in Game 2. Dodgers fans threw items at Padres outfielders and Padres third baseman Manny Machado got in a heated exchange with then Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty after Machado threw a baseball toward the Dodgers’ dugout, narrowly missing manager Dave Roberts.
Roberts called the throw from Machado “unsettling” back in October. “It was unsettling,” Roberts said. “Obviously I have a relationship with Manny from years past. There was intent behind it. It didn’t almost hit me because there was a net. And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very — it’s pretty disrespectful.”
Roberts seemed to retract some of those initial sentiments later in the series, and the Dodgers would go on to defeat the Padres and win the World Series later that month.
It seems that any potential hard feelings between Roberts and Machado have faded since that series ended. Ahead of Sunday’s spring training game, Roberts went as far as to say he loves Machado, who played under him on the Dodgers in 2018, “like a son.”
