Caleb Kilian’s 2026 season with the Giants started like one of those feel-good baseball stories that can carry a team for a few weeks. It ended with a trade, a blown save pattern that got uglier by the month, and a reminder that roles can change everything.
Kilian came back to San Francisco as a non-roster invitee, trying to win a relief job after a rough stretch with the Cubs that was slowed by injuries and limited MLB success. The Giants had drafted him in the eighth round in 2019 out of Texas Tech, then sent him to Chicago in the Kris Bryant trade in 2021. His return had a full-circle feel, and for a while, it looked like it might stick.
The right-hander forced his way onto the Opening Day roster after throwing 9 1/3 innings in the Cactus League with a 0.96 ERA. His fastball, which had become his calling card, touched 99.1 mph in his debut in late February. He officially debuted for the Giants on March 25, when his contract was selected on Opening Day against the Yankees, and he worked a perfect inning.
Through the end of April, Kilian had allowed just one earned run in 14 innings over 13 appearances, good for a 0.64 ERA. He picked up his first MLB win on April 18 against the Nationals with two scoreless innings. For a pitcher trying to reestablish himself, it was about as clean a start as he could have asked for.
Then the Giants leaned into a closer-by-committee approach, and Kilian got his first chances in the ninth inning in May. He survived his first save opportunity against the Padres even after allowing a leadoff homer that trimmed the lead to one. The next two went much smoother: 1 1/3 perfect innings against the Dodgers and a strikeout-the-side outing against the White Sox.
The first real crack showed up on May 29 at Coors Field. Kilian entered with a three-run lead over the Rockies and gave it away in a hurry, allowing a game-tying two-run homer to Hunter Goodman and then a walk-off three-run blast to Ezequiel Tovar. His ERA jumped from 2.22 to 3.96 after that outing.
Even then, the Giants eventually settled on him as their closer. At that point, he had a 3.34 ERA and four saves in 28 appearances. He responded with nine straight scoreless innings, but the ninth inning kept waiting to bite back.
On June 25 against the Athletics, Kilian took his second blown save of the season, turning a one-run lead into a three-run deficit in the top of the ninth. He would finish with his eighth and final save on July 4, then suffer his third blown save on July 10 against the same Rockies team that had already burned him once. His final appearance for San Francisco came on August 1.
By the time the Giants traded him on August 3, along with Luis Arraez, to the Phillies for pitching prospects Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair, the split in his numbers told the story. Before being named closer on June 12, Kilian had a 3.34 ERA in 29 2/3 innings. From that point through his last game with San Francisco, he posted a 6.14 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.
The ninth inning was the real problem. Kilian finished with an 8.84 ERA in 19 1/3 innings in that frame, while he allowed just two earned runs in 25 innings everywhere else, good for a 0.72 ERA. Even with the late-season unraveling and only a few weeks in the official closer role, his eight saves still led the Giants.
After the trade, Kilian made four appearances for the Phillies before an oblique injury ended his season. The opening chapter was electric, the closing stretch was rough, and in between, he still carved out a memorable place in the Giants’ 2026 season.
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