If it feels like the Los Angeles Dodgers have spent the winter picking off some of the top talent available on the market, it’s because they largely have. That aggressiveness from the defending World Series champions continued Sunday, when league sources confirmed the Dodgers signed left-hander Tanner Scott to a four-year deal worth $72 million, thus adding the market’s best reliever.

The Chicago Cubs were also in the mix to land Scott, a league source said. But less than two days after signing highly-coveted Japanese righty Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers once again signaled their intention to become baseball’s first repeat title winners in 25 years, despite a competitive balance tax figure that continues to swell. Per FanGraphs, that tax figure has ticked up to $370.8 million.

A league source said the deal for Scott, which MLB.com first reported, includes a $20 million signing bonus and $21 million in deferred money. The Dodgers’ total outlay fell short of the $95 million contract another top reliever, Josh Hader, secured last offseason. Still, it is the biggest payday for any reliever in the free-agent class, and it reinforces the rarity of a hard-throwing lefty with proven closing experience.

Of The Athletic’s Big Board of top 40 free agents, the Dodgers have come away with six. That includes two of the top three available starting pitchers in Sasaki and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, the third-best outfielder in Teoscar Hernández and now the winter’s top reliever in Scott.

The team’s eyebrow-raising winter demonstrates a startling willingness to continue to push even fresh off a championship and comes just one year after the Dodgers shelled out a billion dollars in commitments in one offseason.

As The Athletic first reported last month, after re-signing Blake Treinen, the Dodgers saw acquiring Scott as their main bullpen priority. That remained true even as the club engaged the Milwaukee Brewers for a trade centered around Devin Williams, who acknowledged upon his arrival with the New York Yankees that he expected to be in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers’ interest in Scott predates those talks. Scott was arguably the biggest piece to move at the trade deadline last summer when he went from the Miami Marlins to the San Diego Padres, though the Dodgers were among the other clubs involved in efforts to secure him.

Scott, The Athletic’s No. 19 ranked free agent this offseason, racked up 102 saves over the past three seasons. Between 2023 and 2024, he compiled a 2.04 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 150 innings while shutting down both lefties (.167 average) and righties (.194). Two weeks after Scott’s first All-Star Game appearance, the Padres paid a premium for him in July, sending four prospects to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Scott and right-hander Bryan Hoeing.

Scott showcased uncommon velocity and frequent versatility in his brief time in San Diego. With Robert Suarez already entrenched as the Padres’ primary closer, Scott appeared in the seventh, eighth and occasionally the ninth innings. He entered a wild-card series game against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth.

With the Dodgers, Scott could serve a similar role in a bullpen that thrived off versatility last October and will return Treinen, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Ryan Brasier and others from last October’s group, including Brusdar Graterol coming off shoulder surgery.

Only four teams in baseball used their bullpen more than the Dodgers last regular season, and team officials have noted the workload that came with their deep run last October. Their 2024 started with an early ramp-up in March to open the season in Seoul, South Korea, and extended through the fall, only to come with another early start as the Dodgers open this year in Tokyo. After an abbreviated offseason, Scott’s addition gives the bullpen further reinforcement.

The Dodgers will not just bolster their own bullpen, but remove a thorn from their side. As Shohei Ohtani completed a torrid finish to his 2024 National League MVP campaign, Scott made him look foolish. Then in the NL Division Series, Scott would face the Japanese slugger four times, striking him out all four times.

Scott’s effectiveness in various situations attracted a wide range of teams. The Dodgers, of course, are paying the 30-year-old to reprise his role as an All-Star-caliber closer. Some wildness is to be expected. Scott walked 4.5 batters per nine innings in 2024, in line with his career average.