Red Sox Could Acquire Giants' Former 39-Save All-Star In Surprise Blockbuster Trade

Reunion time for pitching coach Andrew Bailey?
Sep 15, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Camilo Doval (75) throws a pitch during the tenth inning against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Camilo Doval (75) throws a pitch during the tenth inning against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
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The Boston Red Sox may have bigger problems to deal with at the moment, but adding one more impact reliever should still be an offseason agenda item.

Because closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin are both no longer in Boston, the Red Sox have a lot of restructuring to do at the back end of their bullpen. Returners Justin Slaten and Liam Hendriks should play key roles in the restructuring, but there's more than enough room for new blood.

The talent pool has waned in free agency of late, as 2024 All-Star closers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates both signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. The Red Sox could instead look to the trade market, says one insider, to land their next relief ace.

On Monday, MassLive's Chris Cotillo named San Francisco Giants star Camilo Doval, a 2023 All-Star whose struggles cost him the closer role in 2024, as a bounce-back candidate for the Red Sox to explore acquiring in a trade.

"The Red Sox can also attack the trade market for a highly paid reliever whose team might want to shed money by moving him," Cotillo wrote. "(A deal) at a palatable price (a good chunk of money, but not a major prospect) for someone like... San Francisco’s Camilo Doval (available after a bad year) could make sense as well."

Doval, 27, had a 4.88 ERA and -0.5 bWAR in a 2024 season that also saw him shockingly demoted to Triple-A. But in his first three big-league seasons, he had a 2.77 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 162 1/3 innings. He co-led the National League with 39 saves in 2023.

After avoiding arbitration with the Giants, Doval is slated to make $4.25 million this season. He'll be under team control for the next three seasons before hitting free agency for the first time.

Would Doval make for a good pickup in Boston? That's for the front office to decide, but there's undeniable upside if they can convince the Giants to sell while his value is low.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org