Former Red Sox rookie Ryan Watson joins the Halos' depleted bullpen, offering a low-risk opportunity for the club to stabilize its roster following a busy trade deadline fire sale.
The Los Angeles Angels have claimed bullpen arm Ryan Watson off waivers on Friday, taking one of three vacancies on the 40-man roster after Monday’s trade deadline frenzy.
Watson, 28, was designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox earlier this week after their own deadline transactions. Boston acquired the right-hander via trade after the Athletics selected him in the Rule 5 draft last offseason from the San Francisco Giants organization. Because he was a Rule 5 selection, Watson will require a place on the active roster and cannot be optioned to the minor leagues.
He made 35 relief appearances for Boston in the first half of his rookie season, posting a 4.53 ERA and 4.60 FIP across 55 ⅔ innings. With an active roster spot guaranteed on the Angels, Watson will now help fill some holes left in the aftermath of the trade deadline.
Formerly a 39th-round selection back in the 2016 Draft, Watson chose instead to play out his collegiate career at Auburn University. In his four seasons, the six-foot-five-inch righty recorded a 4.67 ERA in over 90 innings.
Though he didn’t get drafted again, Watson signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles in 2020 and made his minor league debut for the club the following season. He would rise through the system all the way to Triple-A until the 2024 season, when he was purchased by the Giants.
Watson was already 27 years old, but he showed some potential to be a solid bullpen arm after tossing 50 ⅔ innings of 4.26 ERA ball with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate last season. It was enough to tempt the Red Sox to select him in the Rule 5 draft, where he had been a replacement-level player.
His behind-the-curtain metrics indicate he may be having a bit of a lucky season, as evidenced by his .251 batting average against compared to his expected BAA of .283. His expected ERA of 5.77 also places him in the bottom fifth percentile in baseball.
The Red Sox are pushing for the AL East crown and couldn’t afford to trust Watson anymore. The Angels, however, freshly off losing relievers Brent Suter, Kirby Yates, and Ryan Zerefjhan at the deadline, are willing to take the chance on the righty.
Keeping his spot in the Halos’ rotation shouldn’t be too difficult a task for Watson, considering their outlook for the rest of the year. If he makes it through the rest of the season with the club, the Angels will gain control of his rights and could be optioned to the minor leagues in the future.
For now, the Angels are taking the chance on Watson in a low-risk move as there isn’t much of anything on the line the rest of the way. If anything, there’s more pressure to keep their place in the bottom six of the league to give themselves the best odds in the draft lottery. We’ll see how Watson’s addition affects that.
