Left-handed closer Tanner Scott is heading to the San Diego Padres along with Bryan Hoeing in exchange for four Padres prospects: left-handed pitcher Robby Snelling, right-handed pitcher Adam Mazur, third baseman Graham Pauley, and second baseman Jay Beshears. The Padres make their second bullpen trade in as many days and now have one of the best groups of relievers in the entire MLB on paper.
Scott made his Major League debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2017, but it wasn’t until he joined the Marlins in 2022 that he really thrived. Miami put him in a high-leverage role, giving him save opportunities year after year. Last year, he worked in a closer-by-committee role with AJ Puk, garnering a 2.31 ERA and a 9-5 record.
This year, he has taken complete control of the closer position for the Marlins. Scott has a 1.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 18 saves. This led to him becoming the Marlins lone All-Star Game participant in this year’s mid-summer classic, and with the Marlins not contending, led to Scott becoming a trade chip as well. He will join fellow All-Star Robert Suarez and the newly acquired Jason Adam to formulate a promising back end of the bullpen for the Padres.
While Scott is the headline of the trade, Hoeing has been a gem for the Marlins’ starting rotation this season. In 30 innings, the 27-year-old righty has a 2.70 ERA. He could be a great bonus for the Padres if he continues this form down the stretch.
The relief market is always very volatile at the deadline, and this year it was a sellers market. These two factors made sure that whoever traded for Scott had to pay a pretty penny. San Diego had to part with their number two, four, five, and twenty-four prospects to obtain Scott and Hoeing. This is a haul for the Marlins, who diversify their farm system with genuine top guys from San Diego’s system. Snelling was San Diego’s number two prospect, and with good reason.
The lefty is the number 44 overall prospect in baseball, and while he has struggled in Double-A, he has incredible athletic potential. Mazur was the fourth-ranked prospect for the Padres and even spent some time in the Padres bullpen this year. He struggled in time, bouncing up and down for the big league club, but the former Big Ten player of the year for Iowa has a very good slider and good control that plays in the big leagues.
San Diego’s number-five prospect, Pauley, is a primary third baseman who can also play second and the outfield. Pauley had 32 at-bats for the Padres earlier this year but has spent most of his time in Triple-A. Beshears, the number twenty-two prospect, has been pretty solid this year at second base for San Diego’s high-A affiliate, the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Beshears and Pauley played together in college for Duke so that they will be on their third straight team together.
The Marlins rake in lucrative compensation for Scott, and San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller makes another big deadline move to shore up the bullpen and prepare the Padres for a postseason run.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Miami Marlins pitcher Tanner Scott (66) pitches in the eighth inning during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at LoanDepot Park, Miami, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
