As in past depth charts, it's virtually impossible to make a depth chart for all potential relievers so we confine it to pitchers who have a reasonable chance to close out games. Another gaping hole in the Giants roster in 2025 was the role of Closer. Ryan Walker held it on Opening Day but series of disastrous Blown Saves led to a revolving door of candidates, none of whom made a convincing case for the job in 2026. Who are the "in-house" possibilities? Our methodology is to look at pitchers who recorded more than one Save last season as well as non-closer pitchers who have a reasonable chance to move into the role.
MLB:
Ryan Walker: Recorded 17 Saves but also 7 Blown Saves, 7 Losses and a 4.11 ERA. It's unclear how the organization views him going forward but I don't think there are many fans who want to see him walk out of the Bullpen in the 9'th inning on Opening Day.
Spencer Bivens: 3 for 3 in Save Opps. Pitched in multiple roles in 2025 appeared to be out of gas around midseason after a series of multi-inning appearances. Velocity seemed to tick up to 96-97 in single-inning roles and a case could be made that he was the most effective Closer in a couple of late-season opps.
Tristan Beck: Another guy who ate innings in multi-inning roles but also recorded 2 Saves in 2 late-season opportunities.
Joel Peguero: The Triple-Digit Man. A spring phenom, he struggled in AAA for much of the season but showed improvement. Showed he could dominate with the fastball after a late-season call up leading to speculation he might be a legit Closer candidate.
Randy Rodriguez was lights out in a setup role but struggled as the Closer. On the IL with TJ surgery for all of 2026.
AAA:
Ryan Watson: 9/13 Saves, 4.26 ERA.
Miguel Diaz: 9/10 Saves, 3.45 ERA.
Justin Garza: 6/7 Saves, 6.11 ERA.
All 3 of these guys may be minor league free agents. Diaz may be worth bringing back for depth.
AA:
Tyler Vogel: 6/6 Saves, 1.13 ERA.
Evan Gates: 5/6 Saves, 3.23 ERA.
Braxton Roxby: 3/3 Saves, 1.20 ERA.
Trent Harris: 2/2 Saves, 1.69 ERA.
Marques Johnson: 2/4 Saves, 2.90 ERA.
Some of these guys struggled after late promotion to AAA.
A+:
Cameron Pferrer: 6/6 Saves, 2.20 ERA.
Austin Strickland: 5/7 Saves, 4.45 ERA.
Darien Smith: 2/2 Saves, 2.59 ERA.
A:
Ben Peterson: 7/8 Saves, 4.18 ERA.
Cade Vernon: 7/11 Saves, 1.60 ERA.
Cole Hillier: 4/6 Saves, 2.78 ERA.
I was impressed with Hillier when I saw him pitch.
ACL:
Jose Bello: 2/2 Saves, 2.00 ERA.
Came over from the Red Sox in the Devers trade.
DSL:
Lender Bracho: 6/12 Saves, 4.05 ERA.
Carlos Toro: 2/3 Saves, 2.15 ERA.
Jose G Gonzalez: 6/9 Saves, 5.12 ERA.
Randry DeLeon: 3/4 Saves, 3.66 ERA.
Summary: The Giants are, once again faced with the need to acquire a reliable Closer via free agency or trade. They cannot go into next season with Ryan Walker as the presumptive Closer and there are no obviously reliable options on the current roster or in the organization.
Do we have any idea why Walker went off the cliff as he did?
ReplyDeleteNot sure. Melvin kept insisting it was a mechanical issue and kept insisting it was solved, but it looked to me like he was pitching scared at times.
DeleteBello got traded to the Red Sox if I remember right.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you are correct.
DeleteWhat about Bednar--- do the Giants see him as a SP or as a reliever? Is he healthy?
ReplyDeleteBednar must be approaching eligibility for minor league free agency. He's a long shot but stranger things have happened.
DeleteGiants aren’t considering Bednar for any role in the majors. He has struggled mightily in the minors even though he has some potential. He’s getting up there in age to the point of almost aging out of being a prospect. He’s definitely not being considered as a starter anymore considering he’s injury prone and was used in relief last year. It would take a strong spring plus a dynamite year in the upper minors for them to consider even using him at the back end of the bullpen in the majors. Yeah it’s always possible he’s healthy and can put it together for a year. But considering how poorly he has performed in professionally so far, even if he did have one good year he like be a huge question mark in regards to whether he could be consistent and repeat the success. Baseball is loaded with guys like that who have upset but loads of question marks. He’s proven to be just a guy and nothing special.
DeleteA closer, a #3 starter, a RFer, and a backup 1B/ DH: will that fit under the 1st luxury tax threshold?
ReplyDeleteThe Dodgers will pay $508.3 MM in payroll and luxury tax penalties for 2025.
DeleteWas it enough to buy a World Series?
If half-a-billion is not enough, LA owes $1.051 Billion in deferred pay to eight players from 2028 to 2046.
Dodger players and fans are very happy as is the MLBPA.
I mentioned it before but maybe Birdsong makes sense! Failed starter with great stuff who could follow the path of so many others by moving to the closers role. His struggles last year almost always came during the second time through the order and many times after impressively dominating the oppositions lineup once. As a closer he could simplify things and focus on one inning but eventually it could help him get right and be a starter again once his stuff and confidence are back. Others have mentioned it but 2 starters, a closer, RF, and backup 1B/DH are all needs and Buster doesn’t have an unlimited budget so he will need to get creative. Birdsong would be cheaper than any of the closer options in free agency allowing Buster to focus those dollars on the other needs. Not sure why this isn’t a more obvious move that everyone is talking about…
ReplyDeleteAfter his struggle last season, I don't think Birdsong to Closer is exactly an obvious move but if the plan is to open the role to competition in spring training he might be in the mix. It doesn't make much sense to me to invest in a core of high-priced talent only to sabotage it by skimping on the Closer role.
DeleteWay too early to call Birdsong a failed starter. He’s still very young and he suffered from a problem many Giants prospects suffered from under Farhan which was being called up to the bigs way too early out of desperation instead of spending more time in the minors seasoning up to be much better prepared for the bigs.
DeleteGrant Brisbee, as usual, nails the the Giants quest for SPs (as well RPs and a Closer):
ReplyDelete"The options are limitless. The only requirement is to not screw it up."
Unfortunately, his "Ranking the Giants’ offseason needs: From rotation help to infield reinforcements" is behind a Paywall (TheAthletic), but Doc gives us even better for FREEEEE!
Devin Williams seems like the obvious free agent addition. It’s not uncommon for pitchers to struggle in the pinstripes and he was very dominant before this year. And even this year with his high ERA he still had a ton of strikeouts this year and a low WHIP. He’s projected to get a one year deal around 15 million. He seems the perfect option to take a chance on. Low risk high reward. That would give the Giants another year to figure out if they have any internal options. Maybe Birdsong they try, maybe Reggie Crawford is healthy and converted to relief which makes sense considering his injury history as a starter. Maybe one of the other minor league guys figure it out. But Devin Williams makes sense and seems to be a name to keep an eye on for the Giants
ReplyDelete