Padres get Tanner Scott for 4 prospects, including 3 of their top 5 (sources)
AJ Cassavell
SAN DIEGO — The Padres are spending the Trade Deadline turning their bullpen into one of the most fearsome in baseball.
San Diego is poised to land left-hander Tanner Scott from Miami in a six-player trade, sources told MLB.com on Tuesday. Neither club has confirmed the deal, which is pending medicals. The Padres would also land right-hander Bryan Hoeing, sending four prospects to the Marlins — a package headlined by left-hander Robby Snelling, their No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 44 overall.
TRADE DETAILS
Padres get: LHP Tanner Scott, RHP Bryan Hoeing
Marlins get: LHP Robby Snelling (Padres No. 2 prospect), RHP Adam Mazur ( No. 4), INF/OF Graham Pauley ( No. 5), INF Jay Beshears ( No. 24)
Scott, who just turned 30 and will become a free agent after the season, was an All-Star and has posted a 1.18 ERA in 44 appearances this year. He leads qualifying MLB pitchers in lowest average exit velocity against, thanks to a lethal four-seamer/slider combination. Batters struggle to hit his fastball — and Scott’s walk rate has declined since the first month of the season. In short, he’s been one of the best relievers in baseball — and he joins a back end of the ‘pen in San Diego that already features a few of those.
The deal vaults the Padres toward best-bullpen-in-baseball territory. They added righty Jason Adam in a deal with Tampa Bay over the weekend — and those two will feature alongside All-Star closer Robert Suarez and breakout set-up man Jeremiah Estrada.
The price was steep, but the Padres — who are going for it this year — were happy to pay it. In three days, they’ve turned perhaps their biggest weakness — the depth of their ‘pen — into a serious strength.
