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Relievers are a volatile commodity, and that's always going to be the way things go. Houston Astros fans saw one of the best bullpen arms in baseball — Josh Hader — struggle last year, only to bounce back in 2025 back into one of MLB's elite relievers. Unfortunately, the opposite has been true of Tayler Scott who has seen his stock absolutely crater.
Scott was a fun surprise in 2024, and a key cog in Houston's bullpen. In 62 appearances last season, Scott posted a 2.23 ERA and may have been the most underrated member of the Astros' roster. Scott acted as steady source of quality relief innings while there was a lot of drama and tension among Houston's high leverage relievers and their usage.
Unfortunately, Scott's command of the strike zone has been problematic through the good times and the bad. Now that his production has regressed, the Astros had little choice but to move one which the team did after Scott elected free agency this week.
Astros lose Tayler Scott after DFA, but it was for the best
As good as Scott was last season, he really struggled this season and fixing his faults would have been difficult. Walks have always been an issue for Scott, and this season, those issues were extremely pronounced, issuing 12 walks in 16.1 innings of work. When you hand over that many free baserunners to the opposition, posting a 5.40 ERA in 17 appearances actually feels lucky.
With Houston's bullpen surprisingly one of the best in baseball this season, the Astros don't have to roll the dice on the idea of Scott coming around. He is always going to be a pitcher that walks more than you would like, and with a number of quality options on the roster, giving other arms an opportunity versus watching Scott flail around trying to catch lightning in a bottle seems unwise.
One hopes that Scott lands on his feet somewhere, perhaps with a team that knows how to get the 2024 version out of him once again. That season was certainly an anomaly and the Astros were right to be skeptical, but that doesn't mean Scott can't figure things out and become a useful reliever again.