As Tanner Scott joins Dodgers, where will Red Sox turn for bullpen addition?

The top reliever on this year’s free agent market is now off the board, and once again, the Red Sox have been cast as a bridesmaid and not a bride.

Left-hander Tanner Scott agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract to go to the powerhouse Dodgers on Saturday, as first reported by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The deal is tied for the third highest average annual value ever given to a reliever and reinforces a stacked Dodgers pitching staff that already added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki this winter. Scott, who posted a stellar 1.75 ERA in 72 innings with Miami and San Diego last year, was always going to cash in. But his value was aided by the fact a bunch of big-market teams went after him hard.

The Red Sox did stay in touch with Scott throughout the winter, sources said, but the suggestion that Boston offered more than the Dodgers in terms of both years and AAV was described as “very inaccurate” by someone with knowledge of the process Sunday afternoon. The Red Sox were thought to be wary of going to four years for Scott, who will be 34 at the end of the season. The Cubs were another aggressor in Scott’s market and the Mets had interest before inking fellow lefty A.J. Minter late last week.

It’s well-known Boston wants to add another veteran reliever to a core that will include righties Justin Slaten, Liam Hendriks and Garrett Whitlock and new lefties Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson in 2025. As of early this month, the Sox had touched base with a long list of free agent relievers and were believed to be shopping at the top of the market. The list of options has dwindled significantly in the last two weeks.

Scott, Jeff Hoffman, Minter, José Leclerc and Andrew Kittredge have all signed recently and Clay Holmes, Blake Treinen and Chris Martin are off the board, too. It’s unclear if the Sox came close on any of those pitchers but they did have conversations with at least Scott, Hoffman, Minter, Kittredge and Martin. The rest of the relief market could move fast now that Scott, the top prize, has decided where to play.

Among those left out there are top options like Kirby Yates, Carlos Estévez, David Robertson, veteran righties Tommy Kahnle, Paul Sewald, Kyle Finnegan, Phil Maton and Jakob Junis and southpaws Andrew Chafin and Colin Poche. Kenley Jansen is also unsigned but the door is surely closed on a reunion after a less-than-desirable ending to his time in Boston.

Boston has expressed interest in a few of the pitchers left out there and has the money to get something done. After getting their four arbitration deals done, the Red Sox are estimated to have about $32 million left to spend before hitting the first competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold of $241 million. Giving a short-term, high-AAV deal to someone like Yates, Estévez, Robertson or Kahnle would make a lot of sense in an effort to add a veteran righty to a pretty strong group. There are also elite options on the trade market like St. Louis’ Ryan Helsley and Houston’s Ryan Pressly but with relievers, the path of least resistance is always paying in cash, not prospects. The Red Sox definitely have the money to land one of the remaining righties and should have the motivation. The issue is that a lot of teams, including those who lost out on Scott, are also pushing for relief help. For example, Kahnle has eight strongly interested teams on a very competitive market.

Sources continue to indicate that adding a right-handed bat is still Boston’s top priority with bullpen help being looked at as a secondary need. Free agent Alex Bregman and Cardinals trade candidate Nolan Arenado remain the two big-name — yet imperfect — fits the Red Sox have considered. Boston could be waiting on either Bregman (short-term deal?) or the Cardinals (salary dump?) to get desperate as spring training draws closer. Beyond Bregman and Arenado, there’s a limited list of righty-hitting options that includes free agent Randal Grichuk and Cubs trade candidate Seiya Suzuki.

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