4 left-handed relievers who could replace Aaron Loup

Tony Watson

While Andrew Miller is arguably the top option in terms of left handed relievers still available on the free agent market, a close second is the former 2014 All-Star Tony Watson.

Another well travelled veteran of the major leagues, the 36 year old south paw first made is debut in the big leagues as a member of the Pittsburg Pirates during the 2011 season. He spent his first 7 years with Pittsburg before being dealt to the Dodgers at the 2017 deadline.

Following that, Watson spent the next 3 years with the San Francisco Giants before signing with our rival Phillies prior to the 2021 season on a minor league deal. He opted out of his contract after spring training however, and signed a 1 year deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

After spending the first half of the year in Anaheim, Watson was traded back to the Giants at the 2021 deadline, and helped to guide them to the NL West title and the post season.

For his 11 year career, Watson has posted a 2.90 ERA over 648.1 innings over 689 games. Tony has been very consistent over the bulk of his career, but in baseball you are only as good as your last game.

Luckily, Watson was still very effective as a member of the Angels and Giants despite being in the latter part of his career. For the 2021 season, Watson appeared in 62 total games, posting a 3.92 ERA over 57.1 innings.

He performed particularly well for the Giants following his trade back to San Francisco, going 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 24.1 innings over 26 relief appearances.

Clearly, despite already spending 11 years in the league. Watson proved in 2021 that he can still be an effective reliever and be a valuable asset to a play off contender.

He certainly fits the bill in terms of replacing Aaron Loup's role out of the bullpen
and if the Mets were wise, they should give his agent a call the second lockout is over.