Fall/Winter League Roundup: Watson acquired from A's; Mata heading to Japan

There is plenty to discuss following last week's Winter Meetings in Orlando. Though the Red Sox fell short in their pursuit of adding a premium power bat (or two), they were active in other areas. In Wednesday's Rule 5 Draft, for instance, they lost Jedixson Paez to the White Sox and added Ryan Watson via a trade with the Athletics. They had opened a 40-man roster spot for Watson after trading Vaughn Grissom to the Angels for Isaiah Jackson on Tuesday. This week's roundup touches on some of that, as well as other news and action from December 8-15. Stats for Boston's participating players can be found at the SoxProspects.com Fall & Winter Leagues page.

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Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM)

Before being traded from the Athletics to the Red Sox for Justin Riemer in the wake of last week's Rule 5 Draft, Ryan Watson had been pitching for Licey. The 28-year-old right-hander appeared in 13 games for the Tigres this winter, posting a 3.97 ERA with 11 strikeouts to six walks over 11 1/3 innings of relief. He was taken off the roster on November 23. Fellow righty Reidis Sena has not seen any action for Licey since November 30.

On the flip side, Allan Castro got into two games for Este this past week, going 0 for 9 with three strikeouts. The 22-year-old outfielder is batting .303/.343/.424 with four doubles, six RBI, four runs scored, two walks, and nine strikeouts in nine games for the Toros this winter.

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Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

Eduardo Rivera was added to Santurce's roster on December 7. The 22-year-old left-hander has since made two starts for the Cangrejeros, allowing two earned runs on four hits, one walk, and six strikeouts over six innings. Fellow lefty Jovani Moran appeared in three games for Caguas this past week, yielding one unearned run on one hit, one walk, and five strikeouts across 2 1/3 frames of relief. Moran's teammate, Wyatt Olds, also appeared in three games out of the bullpen for the Criollos and gave up one earned run on one hit (a solo home run), no walks, and five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. Elsewhere, Osvaldo Berrios got into just one game for Carolina on Saturday and surrendered two earned runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Kristian Campbell was used exclusively as a DH by Caguas this past week and went 2 for 17 (.118) with one double, two runs scored, four walks, and five strikeouts in five games. The right-handed hitting 23-year-old is slashing .174/.345/.217 in seven games for the Criollos since joining them earlier this month. Juan Montero did not see any game action for Ponce.

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Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Longtime Red Sox pitching prospect Bryan Mata (pictured, above) will be taking his talents to Japan in 2026, as he has reportedly agreed to sign with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 26-year-old right-hander was previously a minor league free agent, but had been pitching in his home country of Venezuela this winter. In nine outings (seven starts) for the Navegantes del Magallanes, he posted a 1.57 ERA with 34 strikeouts to seven walks over 34 1/3 innings. Fellow Venezuelan righty Eybersson Polanco had been pitching for Aguilas del Zulia as well, but was taken by the Angels in the minor league phase of last week's Rule 5 Draft.

Photo Credit: Bryan Mata by Kelly O'Connor

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