Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Rumored Free Target Predicted to Land With Rival

The New York Yankees will be competing with their biggest rival to sign one of baseball's most intriguing free agents this offseason.

Grant Young

Jul 12, 2020; Bronx, New York, United States; A view of the New York Yankees logo and seat number of an empty seat during a simulated game during summer camp workouts at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2020; Bronx, New York, United States; A view of the New York Yankees logo and seat number of an empty seat during a simulated game during summer camp workouts at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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In an October 30 article, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter predicted that the New York Yankees would target former San Diego Padres closer Tanner Scott in free agency.

"Scott could be out of the Yankees' price range, but he represents the lights-out left-hander their bullpen has been missing this season," Reuter wrote. "The 30-year-old had a 1.75 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 10.5 K/9 in 72 appearances with the Marlins and Padres while tallying 22 saves and 11 holds and earning his first All-Star selection."

Later in on the article, Reuter included Scott in his Yankees' 2025 Opening Day roster projection.

Given the Yankees' need to bolster their bullpen this offseason, them pursuing Scott is no surprise.

However, given that Scott is perhaps the best free agent reliever available this winter, plenty of other teams will be seeking his services.

One of those teams is the Boston Red Sox. And in a November 11 article, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly predicted that Scott would land in Boston.

"Scott has experience as a setup man or closer. He's likely to command a large enough contract in free agency that serious suitors will view him as their best reliever, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be pitching in the ninth inning in today's game," Kelly wrote after predicting that Scott would sign a three-year, $48 million contract with the Red Sox this offseason.

Former Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen is also an unrestricted free agent. So if the Red Sox ended up signing Scott, the Yankees could retaliate by taking Jansen from their arch-rivals.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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