San Francisco Giants Decide on Replacement for All-Star Closer

On Friday, the San Francisco Giants made a big change in their bullpen and have officially found a solution.

Jul 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Walker (74) delivers a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants made a shocking move on Friday by demoting closer Camilo Doval to Triple-A Sacramento. He had struggled in 2024, and the Giants decided it was time for a change. While manager Bob Melvin had said it would just be one pitcher, nothing had been decided until Saturday, when Ryan Walker was given the job.

Walker has been excellent for the Giants this season, and maybe their best reliever. Going into Saturday, the 28-year-old led the league with 59 appearances. In 60.1 innings, he has struck out 71 batters with a 2.24 ERA.

In his second big league season, he has improved his ERA by nearly a full run in a similar amount of innings.

With Doval struggling to find the strike zone this season, Walker provides something the former All-Star hasn't: a feel for the zone. Walker has not only improved his ERA, but his walks per nine is down from 3.5 in 2023 to 1.9 this season. He has been reliable at not allowing base runners.

"He's pretty good. Probably had out toughest role in that he would come in with guys on base all the time, and a lot of times go out for the next inning," Melvin said while explaining why the team chose Walker.

The Giants believe that Walker can be versatile, so they're trying to keep other pitchers in their current positions.

"It's about trying to keep Tyler [Rogers] and some of the other guys in their roles. We do have [Jordan] Hicks that we'll probably use a little bit differently now that he's in the bullpen, and just go with a really, really good arm in the closer role for now," he continued.

Walker, however, is not just a one inning guy. He has eight appearances of more than one inning in 2024, and Melvin explained that he would be comfortable using him like that more, if he had to.

"Tyler's pretty good in the eighth. If there was a day we didn't have Tyler and I needed to go four outs or something like that, yeah, for sure," he said of using Walker more.

For the first time since 2021, the Giants will have a new closer. After leading the National League in saves and making the All-Star game in 2023, Doval being sent to the minors was a shock. Maybe a bit extreme, but clearly he lost the trust of the coaching staff and he needs to work on throwing strikes in less high leverage situations.

For now, Ryan Walker will be who the Giants rely on to close out games for them. In a new role, he will need to be exactly who he has been if they are to continue to push for a playoff spot.