Houston Astros Sign Former A's Reliever to Minor League Deal

A shift in pitch usage could lead to better results in 2024

According to his player page, former A's reliever Tayler Scott has signed a minor league deal with the Houston Astros and been assigned to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. 

Scott was DFA'd by the Boston Red Sox in the middle of July and subsequently claimed by the Oakland A's. While he held a cumulative 5.60 ERA between stops with the Dodgers, Red Sox, and A's, in his time in Oakland, he held a 3.38 ERA across eight innings, which included three scoreless innings in August. Those were his last appearances in the big leagues in 2023. 

The 31-year-old right-hander was originally selected in the fifth round of the 2011 Draft by the Chicago Cubs and has made appearances with six different teams since 2019. 

Scott used his 84 mph slider 47% of the time, while using his 94 mph sinker 33%. He also mixed in a four-seamer at 8% and a changeup for 11% usage.

The sinker was his least effective pitch with a batting average against of .500, an expected batting average of .359, and an average exit velocity of 96.9 mph. In small samples, his other three pitches worked well by comparison. He allowed 12 hits on the sinker in 2023, but just 11 hits on the other three offerings combined. 

It wouldn't be surprising to see Houston tinker with his pitch mix in 2024 to see if they can get better results from him moving forward. 

In those three August innings in Oakland, he used his slider a lot less than his season average, down to 34.5% from 47%, while his four-seamer went up to 20.7% usage from eight percent. 

While Oakland didn't have room for him on their roster as they attempt to rebuild and return to competitiveness, Scott still has the potential to be a useful reliever in the big leagues. He'll get his next shot in Houston's system.