SF Giants release former top-flight reliever Ken Giles

The former bullpen standout was a shell of his former self in his brief stint in the SF Giants organization.

The SF Giants hoped to catch lightning in a bottle when they signed right-handed pitcher Ken Giles to a minor-league contract earlier this year. However, with the Giants fading from postseason contention and the former elite MLB reliever struggling to find his old form, San Francisco released the Albuquerque, New Mexico native earlier this week.

Giles first burst onto the big-league scene in 2013, when he was called up by a struggling Phillies team. Giles was immediately a force in the back of Philadelphia's bullpen, posting an incredible 1.18 ERA in 44 appearances (45.12 innings pitched) with 64 strikeouts and just 11 walks. Despite spending most of the first two months of the season in the minors, Giles ' performance was still impressive enough to be voted fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that season.

The following year, Giles backed up his excellent rookie campaign. He recorded a 1.80 ERA while racking up 87 strikeouts and 15 saves in 70 innings pitched. With the Phillies still in the middle of a prolonged rebuild, they opted to trade Giles to the Houston Astros for a package of prospects.

Giles hit the first speed bump of his MLB career in Houston, posting a 4.11 ERA in 2016 while struggling to hold down the team's closer job, but returned to form in 2017. Serving as the Astros' closer, Giles racked up a career-high 34 saves with an excellent 2.30 ERA.

Still, the early-season consistency that made Giles such an exciting young arm would never quite return. An ugly start in 2018 prompted the Astros to trade Giles to the Blue Jays, where he arguably had the best season of his career in 2019 before tearing his UCL after just four appearances the following season.

Giles inked a two-year deal with the Mariners that offseason, but he was designated for assignment in August of this year and eventually became a free agent, where he caught on with the Giants. Giles struggled in four minor-league appearances between San Francisco's Rookie League and Triple-A affiliates. Most concerningly, his fastball, which has consistently sat in the mid-to-upper 90s throughout his career, was reaching only 91-93 mph. Without his high-octane heater, Giles will have a tough road to finding success in the majors.

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported the SF Giants released Ken Giles to give him a chance to catch on with a contender in time to be allowed to be on a postseason roster. Despite his struggles, several contenders may still be willing to take a chance on his impressive resume, hoping he can find his former stuff in time for a playoff run.