Cincinnati Reds claim lefty reliever Robby Scott off waivers from Red Sox

The MLB Winter Meetings have been going on for just over a day out in Las Vegas, and things are starting to get interesting. As promised, the Reds have made a move to go out and get the pitching, acquiring... checks notes... left handed reliever Robby Scott off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.

Okay, so it’s just pitching, not the pitching.

Anyway, the Reds have roster spots open in preparation for the coming Rule 5 draft later this week, so this move is nothing more than a low risk claim to possibly add a LOOGY to the Major League pen, should Scott make it that far through the offseason.

Robby Scott has pitched 48.1 innings out of the Boston bullpen over the past three seasons, good for a 3.91 ERA, 1.200 WHIP and 5.49 FIP. His best and most robust Major League season came in 2017, where he pitched 35.2 of those 48.1 innings for a 3.79 ERA, 0.981 WHIP and 5.32 FIP.

His career SO/9 comes in around eight and a half in both his MLB and minor league career, however it ticked up a lot in 2018, to 11.7 in 48.1 IP at Pawtucket and 10.8 in a cup of coffee with the Sox. However, it’s also come with increased control issues, with a BB/9 close to four in the International League.

Still, while I’ve never seen Robby Scott in action, he’s presumably a baseball player with an arm that throws from the left side and, apparently, has the potential for strikeout stuff. Not a bad thing to try and work into the bullpen, and maybe new Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson can work some pitching wizardry here.

So, there’s some pitching. Now, back to your regularly scheduled constant refreshing of Twitter.