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Ryan Watson’s path to Boston Red Sox roster saw him drafted, not drafted — then drafted
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- Ryan Watson’s path to Boston Red Sox roster saw him drafted, not drafted — then drafted
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Ryan Watson ’s path to the Red Sox ’ 40-man roster has been unconventional. He was drafted out of high school, not drafted out of college, and then drafted in the Rule 5 Draft in December.
The 28-year-old righty is here at camp needing to win a spot on the Opening Day roster. His Rule 5 Draft status requires him to spend the entire 2026 regular season on Boston ’s 26-man roster (barring an IL stint) or else the Red Sox must designate him for assignment.
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“I’m trying not to put a ton of pressure on myself,” Watson said. “I’ve been leaning on (Garrett) Whitlock and (Justin) Slaten, asking them some questions. Those are two great resources.”
Both Whitlock (in 2021) and Slaten (in 2024) made the club as Rule 5 draft picks.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Watson throws a four-seam fastball that was up to 97 mph last year, a sinker, a split-finger fastball, a slider and a curveball. He posted a 4.26 ERA in 46 outings (50 ⅔ innings) at Triple-A Sacramento in 2025. He averaged 11.4 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings.
Boston acquired him right after the Athletics selected him from the Giants in December’s Rule 5 Draft . The A’s traded him to Boston for prospect Justin Riemer .
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He’s subject to the same Rule 5 Draft guidelines.
“A deep mix, a big guy with good extension and good strike-throwing ability that should translate to success in the big leagues,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said after trading for him.
The Dodgers selected Watson in the 39th round (1,181st overall) in 2016 out of Auburn High in Auburn, Alabama. But he gave no real consideration to signing with Los Angeles .
“I really did need college,” Watson said. “I needed school to grow up a little bit, develop some more.”
He pitched in college at hometown Auburn University, just minutes from his high school.
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“About probably five minutes, less than five minutes,” he said. “Came out of (the high) school, took a left, went straight and you hit campus in like a mile or two.”
Pitching for the Tigers was a dream for a kid who grew up routinely attending Auburn baseball and football games with his family.
“We’ve had season tickets for football since I can remember,” Watson said. “And when I was young, we had season tickets to baseball. As I got older, couldn’t go to as many games playing and stuff, but still went to the ones that I could. We’ve always been Auburn fans.”
Clete Thomas and Mike Hnytka were two of his favorite Auburn baseball players growing up. Thomas played outfield at Auburn from 2003-05 and went on to play in 249 major league games for the Tigers and Twins. Hnytka also played at Auburn in 2004-05 when Watson was just 6 and 7 years old.
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He can even recall Auburn football games as far back as running back Cadillac Williams and quarterback Jason Campbell, who both starred there from 2001-04.
Watson pitched for Auburn from 2017-20.
Many college players get drafted and signed after their junior years. But Watson struggled as a junior, posting a 4.87 ERA in 24 outings (one start).
“I didn’t have the junior year that I had hoped for, that I wanted,” Watson said. “I had a rough stretch that kind of shifted things numbers-wise and just didn’t pitch as well throughout the whole course of the year as I hoped for.”
He then pitched just five games as a senior before the COVID pandemic ended that season prematurely. The 2020 MLB Draft was reduced to just five rounds for financial reasons because the league was shut down.
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“I just knew I wouldn’t get picked in those five rounds,” Watson said. “I didn’t have the portfolio to back up getting picked in those rounds.”
And so he went undrafted — unlike four years earlier when he was drafted out of high school — and signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles on June 14, 2020.
“As a college senior, you’re probably not going to get a bunch (signing bonus) anyway,” Watson said. “So I think it was a pretty set amount for the free agents. So it was actually more than I probably would have gotten as a senior (being drafted).”
Watson threw his first live batting practice Friday.
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“Working on the cutter, the splitter. Those are the two big things,” Watson said. “Been trying to really build off of what I already have. Drive some velo stuff and try to get the average (up). I’d like to be 95-plus on the fastball, both of them. So been doing some work with the strength staff.”
Whether he follows in the footsteps of Whitlock and Slaten remains to be seen, but he’s going to continue to lean on them during camp.
“I think I’d be kind of foolish not to tap into that and ask them questions,” he said. “They’ve been through it. They went through it and they’ve proven themselves. Whitlock’s going to pitch for USA (in the World Baseball Classic). It’s a big deal. They know what the process is like, they know what it’s like coming into a clubhouse, that you’re the new guy and going through a camp. ... They’ve been helping me a lot to kind of navigate a few things.”
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