Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants’ 2020 bullpen at least has one known commodity.
Tony Watson exercised his option for next season and is returning on a deal with a $2.5 million base salary and incentives that could reportedly escalate it up to $7 million in the final year of a three-year pact.
The lefty is the only surefire piece of the solid bullpen returning, with Will Smith a free agent, Reyes Moronta injured for much of next season and so many contributors offloaded last trade deadline.
Watson, 34, has been a dependable setup man the last two season, his 4.17 ERA last season bloated by a one-inning, nine-run stretch in mid-August. He missed the last three weeks of the season with a wrist fracture, before which he was a reliable eighth-inning man.
He figures to return in that same role, though he may have a chance to close games if Smith doesn’t return and Farhan Zaidi sticks with some of his lethal but unproven incumbent options like Jandel Gustave, Sam Coonrod, Tyler Rogers or perhaps Shaun Anderson.
Watson had a five-day window following the finale of the World Series to decide whether to exercise the option, and he didn’t bother waiting until Monday. The Giants also announced Saturday that relievers Fernando Abad and Kyle Barraclough have become free agents, with the latter declining his outright to Triple-A Sacramento.