The Dodgers have had no choice but to stand by Tanner Scott, who posted a 4.74 ERA in 2025 and was the face of some of LA’s worst late-season blowups. It makes sense; the Dodgers gave him $72 million to be their closer through 2028, and they can’t publicly admit that they made a mistake and regret signing him.

However, almost every Dodgers rumor this offseason has basically admitted it for them. They tried and failed to sign Raisel Iglesias, have been connected to Pete Fairbanks and Devin Williams, and Robert Suarez/Edwin Díaz aren’t out of the question. Brandon Gomes may have said that he expects Scott to bounce back and be in the mix in late innings in 2026, but they’re still looking for a replacement closer anyway.

It’s the money that really has Dodgers fans angry about Scott – and has the rest of baseball laughing. If he’d signed to the same one-year, $13 million deal as Kirby Yates, the Dodgers would’ve gone into the offseason with a clean slate. Instead, the $46 million they still owe Scott over the next three seasons has become an albatross.

The Athletic just put into writing what Dodgers fans already knew. On a list of baseball’s ugliest contracts, Cody Stavenhagen ranked Scott’s at No. 10.

The Athletic lists Tanner Scott’s Dodgers contract as the 10th worst in baseball

Sharing a list with guys like Anthony Rendon, Kris Bryant, and Javy Báez is basically rock bottom. Rendon has played in less than two seasons’ worth of games in six years with the Angels, and the two parties are in talks to buy out the last year of his contract. Bryant has played barely over a single season’s worth of games since joining the Rockies in 2022 and is still owed three years and $81 million. Báez was an All-Star this year and sort of redeemed himself in the eyes of Tigers fans with some truly clutch moments, but he’s not worth the $48 million they owe him through 2027.

Scott isn’t making nearly the same amount of money as those guys, but he was the third-highest paid reliever by AAV in 2025.

The Dodgers will surely try to help Scott improve and get back to the role he was signed to play, but if they can’t, it’s $72 million right down the drain, and his contract could very well climb up that list after 2028.