San Francisco Giants and Tony Watson: Get it done

The San Francisco Giants are in dire need of lefty relief help. They maybe have one or two guys who are viable lefty options heading into the opening of their big league camp.

With the rumors of Tony Watson and the San Francisco Giants in serious talks, Bobby Evans needs to channel Larry the Cable guy and, “Get ‘er done!”

The San Francisco Giants haven’t had a legitimate lefty in their bullpen since Jeremy Affeldt retired. The team has tried their hardest to go the cheaper route with the bullpen, outside of the whopping Melancon contract. They’ve also tried to fill it internally. But there are virtually no, high performing lefties in previous years.

You finally have a glimpse of internal lefty relief help with a guy like D.J. Snelten, but after that it’s a big “bleh.”

Tony Watson turns that “bleh” into something that could resemble a top notch bullpen. Let me break it down.

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Watson immediately walks in and gives the Giants a lefty option for the later innings. Right now, they could likely count on the ability to mix and match one of Dyson, Watson, Smith, and potentially Gearrin (or a revived Derek Law) for the later innings. That’s really nice to have at Bochy’s disposal.

Watson is a ground ball inducing machine. 47% of ABs against him in 2017 resulted in ground balls. With a lot of Gold Gloves to go around in that infield, Watson would be more than happy to work with that crew. The Giants need a guy like Watson. How much should they pay him?

I’m in the camp that would go 2 years for $12 million. He is 32, so a five year deal doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to jump into. But 2 years for $12 million plus a third year option that get’s bigger in terms of $ based on performance incentives.

Next: Offseason Spending Freeze Not the Giants' Fault

Let’s face it, nobody is sold on the bullpen, and I don’t think the Giants are right now either. Bruce Bochy is probably just blowing up Bobby Evans’ phone with Larry the Cable guy GIFs right now. It’s time for Bobby Evans and the front office to pony up and replenish the bullpen. Tony Watson is the guy they can do that with.