The Red Sox had to make one more move to close the book on their Marcelo Mayer trade, and Ryan Watson ended up being the odd man out.
Boston officially designated the right-hander for assignment to clear a spot for reliever Erik Miller, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. That roster move finishes the chain reaction from deadline day, when the Sox dealt Mayer to the San Francisco Giants and brought Miller back in return.
Watson’s departure was tied directly to the two big August 3 trades that reshaped the roster. Boston landed former Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman and Jake Rogers in one deal, with Carlos Narváez and Mayer’s spots going to those additions. The Mayer swap, meanwhile, sent the former top prospect and one of the club’s “Big Three” to San Francisco for Miller and an outfield prospect.
Because Miller needed a 40-man spot, Watson was squeezed off the roster. The 26-year-old had been in Boston since the offseason, when the Red Sox acquired him from the Athletics.
Oakland had selected him from the Giants in the Rule 5 Draft, and Boston was required to keep him on the roster. Now that he’s been designated for assignment, he’ll go through waivers.
If nobody claims him, the Red Sox must offer him back to San Francisco for $50 thousand.
Watson’s numbers in Boston were solid enough overall: a 4.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 43 strikeouts across 55.2 innings. That line was dragged down by a rough opening stretch, including a 7.07 ERA over 14 innings in April. He settled in after that, putting up a 3.91 ERA over his last 15 appearances.
His role also made the decision easier to see coming. Watson was used mostly in low-leverage spots, while Miller is arriving to handle much bigger innings. The Red Sox also have Brayan Bello back in the big league bullpen and expect Tanner Houck to return in a few weeks, which made Watson even more expendable.
Miller gives Boston a very different kind of bullpen arm. He has a 2.76 ERA, 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings and four saves over 32.2 innings with San Francisco this season.
The Red Sox view him as a late-inning weapon for Aroldis Chapman, and he could even help preserve Chapman’s workload later in the year. Miller has also opened games before, which could allow Bello to slide back into the bulk role he’s handled so well.
Watson stuck around longer than many probably expected after his shaky start, but the Red Sox clearly saw a cleaner fit elsewhere. Now the question is whether the Giants - or another club - take a shot and keep his upward trend going.
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Red Sox Fans Will Care About What Boston Got Back For Mayer
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Bostons side of the deal brings in left-hander Erik Miller, whose profile comes with both control questions and enough raw ability to make him worth watching, along with Carlos Gutierrez, a 21-year-old outfielder whose game is built around speed, defense and contact. For a team that has spent plenty of time sorting through infield traffic, the more interesting question now is how quickly these pieces can matter and whether either one ends up looking like the kind of secondary return that changes the way a trade is remembered. [Read more 🡒]