Red Sox To Designate Ryan Watson For Assignment

The Red Sox are designating Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson for assignment, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The right-hander’s roster spot will go to lefty Erik Miller, whom Boston acquired from San Francisco prior to yesterday’s trade deadline.

The Sox acquired Watson out of the Giants organization by way of a Rule 5 day swap. The Red Sox had the A’s take Watson with the eighth overall selection and then traded infielder Justin Riemer to the Athletics in order to bring Watson to Boston. He’s been a staple in the bullpen this year, typically working low-leverage settings. Watson has pitched 55 2/3 innings and yielded a 4.53 ERA with good command (7.9% walk rate) but sub-par strikeout and ground-ball rates (17.9% and 38.4%, respectively).

Watson posted nice strikeout and walk rates with the Giants’ Triple-A club a season prior, but he hasn’t missed bats at even an average rate in Boston this season. The Sox have saved him for pure mop-up work by and large, but their deadline addition of one now-former Giant (Miller) will push another off the roster.

Since Watson is a Rule 5 pick, he’ll head to the waiver wire and first be made available to 28 other teams. If no one claims him, the Red Sox will have to offer him back to the Giants for a modest $50K sum. San Francisco could then plug him back in with a minor league affiliate but would not have to keep Watson on the 40-man roster. If someone other than the Giants puts in a claim for Watson, he’ll go straight to that new team’s big league roster. His Rule 5 restrictions would carry over to that new team, meaning he won’t be optionable for the remainder of the year but could be optioned next spring.