Tony

Watson

Watson has decided to step away after an 11-year career, which included stops with the Pirates, Giants, Dodgers and Angels. The 36-year-old left-hander retires as the major leagues all-time leader in holds (246) and finishes with a sparkling 2.90 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 570/174 K/BB ratio across 648 1/3 innings (689 appearances) since 2011.

Watson landed on the injured list before the final weekend of the regular season due to a left shoulder strain, but it has proven to be relatively minor and he could be an option for the Giants in the NLCS if they are able to advance past the Dodgers in the NLDS. The veteran reliever posted a 2.96 ERA across 24 1/3 innings this summer with San Francisco after being acquired from the Angels at the July 30 trade deadline.

Watson will obviously miss the rest of the regular season with only four games left. The left-hander could be an option in the middle innings for the Giants in the NLDS -- assuming they get to that point, which seems likely with a two-game lead and only four games to play.

The 36-year-old southpaw returns to the Giants, where he pitched previously from 2018-2020. He has made 36 appearances out of the Angels bullpen this season, posting a 4.64 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 25/14 K/BB ratio over 33 innings. He’ll help bridge the gap to closer Jake McGee.

Re-acquired, you could say, as Watson spent 2018-20 in San Francisco. Sam Selman is headed to the Angels in the deal. Watson has posted a 4.64 ERA in 36 relief appearances with the Angels this season.

Watson had been pretty good this year, but it was still incredible that Joe Maddon threw this game away by letting him face six batters, retiring none of them, before finally pulling him. The Angels were up 4-2 when he entered and ended up losing 8-4.

Watson landed on the injured list due to a left calf strain earlier this month and didn’t end up missing much time at all. He’ll give the Angels some bullpen reinforcement ahead of Sunday’s Freeway Series finale against the Dodgers.

Maddon was brimming with optimism on his injured list on Saturday, as he also said that Chris Rodriguez (shoulder) and Anthony Rendon (knee) are very close to coming off the IL. Watson has been on the injured list since May 3 because of a left calf strain, and should return to the middle innings in the middle of May.

The move was made prior to Sunday’s game. It’s not a long-term concern, but hopefully some rest will do the trick.

Watson, 35, gives the Halos another left-hander for the bullpen alongside Alex Claudio. The veteran southpaw posted a 2.50 ERA and 15/3 K/BB ratio over 18 innings for the Giants last season.