Philadelphia Phillies: Tony Watson is yet another shrewd bullpen addition

Heading into this year’s offseason, it wasn’t any kind of secret that the Philadelphia Phillies needed to improve their bullpen. 2020 saw the Phillies field the second worst bullpen in MLB history – the primary reason the team failed to crack the postseason.

With that said, Dave Dombrowski and company didn’t spend as much money on the ‘pen as we all maybe initially expected. He forked over $6 million for Archie Bradley (which was a solid move), but outside of that one early addition, there weren’t any major league deals handed out to free agent relievers.

While that may come off as a tad concerning, it appears like it was an intentional strategy of sorts. Instead of splashing $10-20 million on the bullpen right out the gate, Dombrowski bided his time, pouncing on cheap trade deals and above average veterans hunting for Spring Training invites.

The Philadelphia Phillies snagging LHP Tony Watson is good business.

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High-velocity arms like Sam Coonrod and Jose Alvarado were acquired via trade, and notable veterans Brandon Kintzler, Hector Rondon, and ultimately Tony Watson were signed to minor league contracts with invitations to camp included.

Watson – who was signed early Wednesday morning – is a notable addition to keep an eye on this spring.

A 35 year old left-hander who has put together 10 productive seasons as a major league reliever, his odds of cracking the Opening Day roster appear to be pretty high. Watson was an All-Star back in 2014, he’s never finished a season with an ERA above 4.17, and his impressive 2.50 ERA last year would’ve instantly made him the best reliever in Philadelphia.

Considering how depleted the team’s ‘pen has been over the last couple of seasons (specifically when it comes to left-handed options), Watson instantly jumps out as someone who could snag himself a considerable role in 2021. Outside of Jose Alvarado, JoJo Romero, and possibly Ranger Suarez(?), the Phillies don’t have much in terms of left-handed pitching coming out of their bullpen at the moment.

Like a majority of the free agent relievers that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed this offseason, Watson fell victim to a shriveled up market this winter. Teams across the league were desperately attempting to shed salary due to the pandemic, leaving above average veterans like Watson without any realistic suitors.

This obviously worked out pretty favorably for Dombrowski, as he was able to improve his bullpen this offseason without committing any major cash towards the payroll.

Barring some sort of substantial collapse during Spring Training, Watson would make $3 million upon being named to the team’s official roster. Considering the caliber of player that’s being acquired, combined with the stage of the offseason that we’re in, most would consider this a fairly small price to pay.

Had I written the article linked above prior to Watson’s deal being announced, he absolutely would have cracked that list.