Baltimore Orioles: Tayler Scott Signs With Hiroshima Carp

Former Baltimore Orioles reliever Tayler Scott will pitch professionally in Japan next season.

Add another name to the list of former Baltimore Orioles pitchers who are taking advantage of the opportunity to pitch overseas next season. Relief pitcher Tayler Scott has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Hiroshima Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan.

Per Patrick Newman (@NPBtracker), Scott will earn $525,000 in 2020, along with a signing bonus of $175,000.

Originally a fifth-round pick of the Chicago Cubs back in 2011 out of Notre Dame Prep in Arizona, Scott would work his way up to Double-A ball in the Cubs organization before being released just before the 2016 season.

He would sign with the Milwaukee Brewers in early July and find himself traded to the Texas Rangers for RHP Jeremy Jeffress just weeks later. Scott pitched with Texas for one season, was released again, and eventually signed with the Seattle Mariners where he made his major league debut in 2019.

Scott struggled in Triple-A Tacoma with the Rainers, going 3-2 with a 6.43 ERA in 20 appearances (35 IP), but he did strike out 47 Pacific Coast League hitters. In five appearances with Seattle, Scott gave up eight runs on 11 hits across 7.2 innings, walking six and striking out seven in the process.

Seattle designated him for assignment on June 21, where he was claimed four days later by the Baltimore Orioles.

Scott was superb in his brief time with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, posting a 0.56 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and .193 average against in 13 International League appearances. He converted six of eight saves and struck out 21 hitters in 16 innings. It appeared as if the Orioles had themselves a decent bullpen piece to help get them through the rest of 2019.

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Unfortunately, Scott struggled mightily at Camden Yards, and there was the confusion of having Tanner and Tayler Scott in the bullpen.

Scott made eight appearances with the Orioles, giving up 18 runs on 20 hits (five home runs) across 8.2 innings, good for an 18.69 ERA, 2.88 WHIP, and .444 average against. He was removed from the 40-man roster and outrighted to Triple-A on October 30th and elected free agency on November 4.

Largely a sinker/slider reliever, Scott’s sinker produced a whiff rate of just 9% in the major leagues last season as hitters recorded a .439 average and .544 wOBA against the pitch. His slider did show some promise, producing a 36% whiff rate, a .333 average against (.233 expected average), and a .394 wOBA (.298 xwOBA).

Scott is the third former Orioles pitcher to sign overseas for 2020. Both Mike Wright and Aaron Brooks will pitch in Korea next season. We hope all three find success in their new journey.