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The Pirates Should Shop Tony Watson
By Marty Leap
The left-handed relief market is very thin this offseason. Due to this, the Pirates should be shopping left-handed reliever Tony Watson.
Left-handed relievers are one of the most sought after commodities in all of Major League Baseball. This offseason, the market for left-handed relievers was thin to begin with. And in the past week, it has just thinned out even further.
The reason it has thinned out further is due to a pair of free agent left-handed relievers signing with new teams. Bret Cecil signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and Marc Rzepczynski signing with the Seattle Mariners. Now the Pittsburgh Pirates could have a very hot commodity on their hands, and that potentially got commodity is Tony Watson.
For the past six seasons Tony Watson has been a mainstay in the Pirate bullpen. In 386 1/3 career innings pitched he has averaged 8.04 K/9, 2.49 BB/9, 0.79 HR/9, and he owns a 3.4 career WAR. His career ERA is 2.56, FIP is 3.45, and xFIP is 3.69.
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Furthermore, Tony Watson has closer experience. While I think this is extremely overrated and that the ‘closer’ position is a joke, most Major League managers think otherwise. Due to this, his closer experience would most likely add to his value.
There are a few reasons why I believe the Pirates should be shopping Tony Watson. First off, he is, at best, the third best reliever in the Pirate bullpen. Both Juan Nicasio and Felipe Rivero are better relief pitchers than Watson is. These two pitchers could easily team up to tackle the eighth and ninth innings for the Pirates this season. The Pirates also have two other left-handed pitchers, Antonio Bastardo and Wade LeBlanc, in their bullpen already.
Secondly, Tony Watson is slated to become a free agent after the 2017 season. Since he will become a free agent, the Pirates might be better off trading Watson for something instead of letting him walk for nothing.
Thirdly, left-handed relief pitching is a hot commodity right now. With the free agent options drying up, Watson could have a huge demand on the trade market. And it is worth the Pirates looking into.
Finally, I believe it is possible that Tony Watson’s best days are behind him. Since the start of the 2013 season Watson has pitched 292 innings. This is more than any other relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. When you combine that with his struggles in 2016 (4.37 FIP, 4.20 xFIP, 1.33 HR/9) I believe it is possible that his left-arm is cooked.
Next: Pirates Pursuing Derek Holland?
In my opinion, the Pirates need to be shopping Tony Watson. He is not needed in order for the 2017 Pirates to have a good bullpen. Furthermore, he will walk in free agency after the year and there are questions around how much tread is left on his arm. Even if he is not traded, the Bucs need to be dangling him.