The Oakland Athletics are a long way from contention in the American League West. The team defeated the Boston Red Sox in a close game on Wednesday by a final score of 6-5, and still found itself with a record of 27-71 on the season.

The Athletics made an under-the-radar Orioles trade Wednesday. The  team has faced injuries, health problems and performance related issues from relievers including Trevor May, which may have contributed to their newly announced pickup.

With so many team needs the Athletics have the freedom to take a chance on talented players who haven't quite put it all together just yet, and Tayler Scott fits the bill. Scott, a former member of the Boston Red Sox in 2023 and the Los Angeles Dodgers previously this season, was claimed off waivers by the team in an announcement shared to MLB Twitter.

Scott had an ERA of 4.91 in four games with the Red Sox, with a 2.73 WHIP in just 3.2 innings pitched. For his career, Scott has an ERA of 10.18, which has led fans on Twitter to question the move.

“Career 10.18 ERA….Lovely addition,” one commenter said.

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“Elite elite AAA numbers this year. Hopefully his MLB numbers improve. This is a good pick up for the A’s,” another more optimistic fan said on the same platform.

At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, the Johannesburg, South Africa native Scott has the raw materials to become a plus reliever in MLB play. Whether or not it will come to fruition any time soon remains to be seen, as Scott has struggled for most of his career.

In an informal Twitter poll, over 64% of respondents out of 56 total said that they were not fans of the move. Scott was originally drafted in the fifth round by the Chicago Cubs in 2011.

The Athletics are set to take on the Houston Astros tomorrow night at home at 9:40 p.m.