While no significant moves have been made, the Braves have been linked to a potential blockbuster free agent in Tanner Scott.
David O’Brien of the Athletic originally reported that Atlanta had interest in Scott.
“The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected a 4-year, $64M deal for FA lefty reliever Tanner Scott back in early November, and at that time MLBTR predicted 4 yrs., $56M for Scott. The way the market’s gone, I’d say Britton’s projection will be closer and still might end up a bit low,” O’Brien initially tweeted.
“Yes,” O’Brien replied to a question asking if the Braves had interest.
According to Jon Morosi on MLB Network, the Braves are competing with the Dodgers, among others, for Scott’s services, which makes sense given this next bit of information.
Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the All-Star closer is expected to receive interest from multiple big-market teams. Cotillo’s MassLive colleague, Sean McAdam, then indicated that Scott could receive $20 million per year on a new deal.
If Tanner Scott is to garner a deal north of $20 million per year, that will put him in rare company. The only full-time reliever to reach that mark is Edwin Diaz, who signed a five-year, $102 million extension with the Mets a couple of years ago. However, the net present value of that deal was closer to $93 million because more than $26 million was deferred.
In reality, Josh Hader’s five-year, $95 million contract set the new standard for relievers in terms of net present value. Of course, if Scott were to reach $20 million with no deferred money, which the Braves seem reluctant to do, it would set a new record.
It would be a bit of a shock. Hader had a far better track record when he hit free agency, and most projections land somewhere between $12-16 million per year for Scott. Of course, if the Dodgers are interested, that figure could grow exponentially.
Even if the bidding doesn’t reach that $20 million mark, Tanner Scott would likely challenge Marcell Ozuna for the richest free agent contract in Atlanta Braves history. While I would love to add a guy like Scott, that seems a little far fetched.
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Photographer: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
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