San Francisco Giants Have a Big Decision To Make in the Bullpen

After making a change at closer, the San Francisco Giants have to decide what they will do going forward.

Sep 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Camilo Doval (75) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Since the end of 2021, Camilo Doval has been the locked in closer for the San Francisco Giants. He saved 66 games from 2022-2023, including leading the National League with 39 in 2023, while also making an All-Star team. In 2024, things could not have gone worse for the 26-year-old as he lost his closer job just one year after leading the NL in saves. Now, the Giants need to decide how they're going to handle it going forward.

Doval came into the year as the closer, and while he recorded 23 saves, his ERA jumped from 2.93 to 4.88 and his walks per nine went from 3.5 to 5.9 and he struggled to find the strike zone. He was then pulled from the ninth and optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on August 9.

After returning on August 24, he collected one save but continued his struggles, allowing nine earned runs and walking 10 in 15 innings.

The Giants, for the most part, went closer-by-committee without Doval, but one name emerged above the others: Ryan Walker.

In the time after Doval was sent down, Walker pitched in 17 games, recording 10 saves in 19.2 innings with 28 strikeouts while allowing just two earned runs. On the year, he pitched in 76 games with a 1.91 ERA and 11.1 K/9. The 28-year-old was the team's most reliable reliever.

Now, with a new front office regime in place, comes the question of how they handle the closer role. Doval is younger, a former All-Star and has led the league in saves. But everything seemed to fall apart for him in 2024. Walker is an unheralded reliever who dominated, and has been good since making his debut.

If the team has lost faith in Doval, they could potentially deal him away. However, his value is at it's lowest and likely wouldn't get a ton for him. Relievers a volatile, so a team might be wary to take him on, despite his clear talent.

With his value being so low, it's more likely than not he stays put and the Giants try to help him re-find his old form. His stuff is undeniable. The 27-year-old's fastball is in the 96th percentile and his whiff percentage is in the 95th, despite all of his struggles.

This question, of who the closer will be, will come down to Spring Training and the early days of the season. Doval will not be the closer going into the spring, but if he shows that he has found his command again, he has a great shot of earning it back, pushing Walker to the eighth.

This assumes that he isn't traded. There is no telling how much the new regime will want to shake things up.