As Tanner Scott walked off the plane, Evan Phillips was waiting to board.
This was late June 2019, when Scott and Phillips were in the early stages of their MLB careers. At the time, each was trying to establish himself as a big-league talent. But both watched flashes of potential be overshadowed by inconsistent overall performance.
On bad Baltimore Orioles teams focused more on rebuilding their roster, it made both pitchers victims of regular roster shuffles. During 2018 and 2019 alone, they were optioned to the minors a combined 17 times.
“The revolving door,” Scott quipped. “It was not a fun one.”
On this day, that turnstile created a chance encounter in the Seattle airport. Scott, a hard-throwing left-hander battling command issues, had gotten a call-up to join the team during a road series against the Mariners. Phillips, who profiled similarly from the right side of the mound, was being sent down along with another Orioles player.
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By chance, the plane that brought Scott from Baltimore’s triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, Va., was the same one operating Phillips’ flight back to the minor leagues. In the gate area, the two literally passed each other when Scott walked out of the jetway.
“I remember seeing him and I was like, ‘Ugh,’” Scott recalled, having grown close with Phillips during their time in the organization. “I mean, you’re happy to see your friend. But you’re also like, ‘Dang, it’s those guys who are in the revolving door.’”
Phillips’ reaction?
“I gave him a little high-five,” he joked, “and said, ‘Good luck!’”
Six years — and a remarkable amount of personal improvement from each — later, Scott and Phillips could still vividly recall the moment in the Dodgers’ clubhouse last week, using it as an example to illustrate how far they’ve come.
In Baltimore, the two were fringe big-leaguers just looking for opportunity. Now, after Phillips’ rise with the Dodgers and Scott’s four-year, $72 million signing with the team this offseason, they are teammates again on a juggernaut Dodgers roster, expected to serve key late-innings roles as two of the sport’s best current relief arms.
“It was not a fun [situation],” Scott said, reflecting back on their…