Would San Francisco Giants Actually Consider Removing Star From Closer Role?

After a blowup on the mound and in the dugout, there are some whispers that the San Francisco Giants might need to find a new closer.

Jun 2, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Camilo Doval (75) walks back to the mound / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants put together an incredible performance on Sunday after they trailed the Los Angeles Angels 2-0 early.

A nine-run fourth inning propelled the Giants to win their Father's Day contest 13-6, finally showcasing the potential this group has when everything is clicking.

It's also what manager Bob Melvin has been looking to bring out of this team for seemingly the entire season. They showed resilience, were able to capitalize on having base runners by getting them across home plate, and used solid at-bats and timely hits to get deep into the opposing team's bullpen.

Seems like everything should be positive for San Francisco coming out of this game, right?

Well, not necessarily.

The Giants called upon their superstar closer Camilo Doval to come in for a non-save situation since the last time he pitched was on June 12, but his outing was anything but good.

He gave up four earned runs on four hits, walking two batters and striking out none before he was pulled after only recording one out.

Doval was not pleased with his performance and had a meltdown in the dugout.

Camilo Doval was NOT happy after his rough outing today 😬 pic.twitter.com/xDGVQg0fv2

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 16, 2024

Emotions boil over for players, and them taking out their frustrations certainly is not uncommon, but this was the latest saga in a season where the star closer hasn't been as sharp as in years past.

With a 4.88 ERA, this would be the worst output he's had since he was called up in 2021.

This has sparked Bryan Murphy of McCovey Chronicles to question if San Francisco should look to change who comes in to close out games for this team.

"Camilo Doval was so great as the closer of the San Francisco Giants last season that he was an All-Star. This year, it’s plausible he doesn’t hold the job by the end of the season ... there's enough of a sample to say, 'Well, he's not going to be as good as he was in either of the last two seasons,' and that's reason enough to wonder if he's going to be good at all," he writes.

There is a lot to unpack from that.

First of all, it would be insane for the Giants to remove Doval, who is coming off an All-Star appearance last season and recorded the most saves in the National League with 39, from his closer role because of a tough stretch.

Since this team hasn't had many leads late in games where he can be called upon to do what he does best, it's been hard for him to maintain a rhythm, one of the reasons why Melvin used him in Sunday's blowout.

Plus, who would they use in the closer role instead of Doval?

Taylor and Tyler Rogers have been great out of the bullen, but Taylor has only been used as a primary closer twice in his career with the last time that occurred coming in 2022.

Ryan Walker and Sean Hjelle have posted impressive ERA numbers so far with a 2.43 and 2.27 respectively, but both are young players who have a combined 131 Major League games between them.

To be fair, Murphy doesn't necessarily think it's time to remove Doval from the closer role, but he's worried that there will be prolonged struggles that could force San Francisco's hand.

Still, it would not be smart to make a rash decision like that, and Doval should be allowed to work through these struggles so he can get back to being a premier reliever in this league.