Giants get help in recruiting lefty Watson for bullpen
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> Even when he was wearing Dodger blue, Tony Watson had the Giants on his mind.
Closer Mark Melancon made sure of it.
And now, though the Giants haven’t officially announced it, they have agreed to terms with Watson, a free-agent lefty reliever and seven-year veteran.
The move comes after a long offseason that included an extended recruiting pitch from Melancon, who teamed in Pittsburgh’s bullpen with Watson earlier in their careers.
On Saturday morning, Melancon explained how excited he was to reunite with his former set-up man, one of the most effective lefthanders in baseball, and why he wanted to bring Watson to San Francisco.
“I couldn’t be more ecstatic,” Melancon said. “The guy is one of the most professional people I’ve ever been around, and I’ve spent 31/2, four years with him, and there’s not one negative thing that I could ever say about him — one of the most polished pitchers, relievers, that I’ve been around.
“You know the depth, he’s just fantastic. I couldn’t be happier.”
While the deal has yet to be announced, a source confirmed the Giants agreed to a multi-year deal that will keep the team’s 2018 payroll under the $197 million luxury tax threshold.
With Watson set to join the fold, Melancon can take satisfaction in knowing he played a role in the Giants adding a prized left-hander to a bullpen that needed more ammunition.
“I think I did — I’ve been pitching at him for the entire offseason and even prior to that,” Melancon said. “When he was in L.A., I was like, ‘We need you over here now.’ So since September of last year, I think.”
Watson spent the first 61/2 seasons of his career with the Pirates, but was traded to the Dodgers last summer before helping Los Angeles secure the National League West title.
Watson pitched in 12 postseason games for the Giants’ rival, compiling a 2.57 ERA during the postseason while recording five outings without allowing an earned run in the World Series.
“No surprises, he’s been that good the last four years,” Melancon said. “That’s just Tony to me, I kind of knew what he was going to give. Postseason, World Series, that’s not going to faze him.”
The left-hander will turn 33 on May 30 and joins a bullpen that features Melancon, Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland, as well as fellow southpaw Will Smith.
Smith is recovering from Tommy John surgery and targeting a May 1 return to the major-league level, so the Watson deal stabilizes a Giants’ bullpen that needed a strong left-handed presence.
“I was in Milwaukee for three years, and I saw Tony in Pittsburgh, you know, six times a year — he was an incredible arm in the back end of that bullpen and he’s extremely durable,” Smith said.
“You always see him up there in the high 70s in appearances and, yeah, I’m excited to get to meet him, get to know him and welcome him to the team.”
After the retirements of Jeremy Affeldt (2015) and Javier Lopez (2016), the Giants expected Smith to take over as primary left-hander capable of pitching in highleverage situations last year. Smith’s injury in spring training devastated the club, but hit manager Bruce Bochy particularly hard.
“We missed Javy, we missed Affeldt — those guys, they were the lefties that really tied everything together with how we used them,” Bochy said.
“There’s no question we missed them, and we’ve got some young, good candidates, but unfortunately we lost a really good one last year.
“When I said, you look at our club and you had to say one of five guys that we didn’t really want to lose, that was Will Smith. That hurt us with his experience.”