Giants acquire reliever Tony Watson from Angels

The Giants are acquiring reliever Tony Watson from the Angels, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Giants will send Sam Selman, Jose Marte, and Ivan Armstrong to Los Angeles, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

Watson is well known in San Francisco, of course, having only recently completed a three-year run with the Giants from 2018 to 2020. It’s been a bit of a down year for Watson, who owns a 4.64 ERA/4.10 FIP in 33 innings with the Angels. His walk rate, in particular, has bothered his performance, ballooning to 10.4 percent from a career 6.7 percent.

That said, the understated veteran has been remarkably reliable throughout his 11-year career. Giants’ President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said of the acquisition (per Slusser), “He’s a battled-tested relievers, and we’re going to have a lot of important games down the stretch. His influence, his demeanor, is really an example we want to have set.”

The Angels, meanwhile, continue in their mission to add pitching to their organization. After using their entire draft to add pitchers, the Angels now add three more in the form of Selman, Marte, and Armstrong.

Selman has the best chance of simply taking Watson’s roster spot. The 30-year-old southpaw has appeared in each of the past three seasons for San Francisco, totaling 37 2/3 innings with a 4.06 ERA/5.00 FIP. Selman has been a fine option for the Giants, though he doesn’t come with the same track record that Watson does.

As for the youngsters, Marte, 25, made it as high as Double-A this season. He’s marked a 3.57 ERA in 19 appearances totaling 22 1/3 innings. Armstrong, 21, is a burler 6’5″, 247-pound right-hander pitching out of the bullpen in Single-A. He’s impressed with a 1.88 ERA in 38 1/3 innings while striking out 28.7 percent of opponents.