The Giants may have found a late-inning answer in Dylan Smith.
On Friday night, Smith got the first save chance for a Giants reliever since the trade deadline and handled it, finishing off a 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. In a bullpen that has been stretched thin, that mattered. It also stood out because no one has really claimed the ninth inning since the Giants moved through a closer-by-committee setup.
The season started with Ryan Walker in the closer role, but that plan gave way to a committee that included Caleb Kilian, Erik Miller and Keaton Winn. Kilian, who led the Giants with eight saves, and Miller were both traded away - Kilian to the Philadelphia Phillies and Miller to the Boston Red Sox. Since then, the search for a steady finisher has continued.
Winn has had some shaky outings in that job, but he still looks like one of the better relief options on the roster. On Friday, though, he entered in the seventh inning, which suggested he is a step below the current top of the bullpen pecking order. Sam Hentges has been working as the setup man lately.
That leaves Smith in line for the ninth, a development that would have surprised just about anyone before the season began.
The Giants picked up Smith from the Tigers at the start of the year. He was on waivers at the time, and the club chose to make a trade instead of waiting to see if he cleared. It was the kind of move the Giants used to make more often when they were more active on the waiver wire, and Smith is a reminder that they probably should not ignore that path altogether.
So far, the 26-year-old right-hander has made the most of the opportunity. In 21.1 innings this season, he has a 2.95 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.31 WHIP, 10.1 K/9 and a 2.18 SO/W rate.
His fastball sits in the mid 90s, and he pairs it with a mid 80s sweeper. That combination has worked, and the velocity is the kind of trait teams usually want from the pitcher finishing games.
With less than two months left in the season, the Giants are treating the bullpen like an open audition. There are not many relievers who look locked in for next year, but Smith is one of them.
Winn and Hentges might be the others. After that, the list may be pretty short.
In Other News...
Giants Let A Luis Arraez Deal Change In A Costly Way
A trade that was sitting on a one-for-one framework eventually grew into something bigger, and for the Giants, the extra moving parts may be the part that stings. Philadelphia landed All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez, and the revised structure also gave the Phillies additional bullpen depth while avoiding a scenario in which they would have surrendered a breakout starting pitching prospect on his own.
Instead of staying simple, the deal widened to include reliever prospect Marty Gair and Giants reliever Caleb Kilian, turning it into a package that sent Arraez and Kilian to Philadelphia while bringing Ramon Marquez and Gair back to San Francisco. From the Phillies side, it looks like a clean win, but for the Giants, the missed version of the trade is the one that lingers. [Read more 🡒]
Heliot Ramos Is Already Fueling A Huge Giants Trade Debate
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Ramos, meanwhile, has hit a rough patch in New York, where the early returns have not done much to quiet the debate that followed him out of town. He has two hits in 17 plate appearances and has already had some defensive issues, the kind of early stretch that makes every trade look bigger in hindsight. For Giants watchers, the question now is less about what they gave up than whether the pieces they got back can eventually make this look like the right kind of gamble. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Showed Just How Far They'd Go For Rotation Help
The Braves spent the 2026 deadline casting a wide net for rotation help, and their search reached all the way to San Francisco. Atlanta ultimately landed Tyler Mahle and Lane Thomas in separate deals, but the club also explored higher-end pitching options, including Giants right-hander Logan Webb, as it tried to fortify a staff that clearly had the front office looking for more than a minor upgrade.
Webb was never a realistic pickup for San Francisco to entertain, with the Giants holding firm on a pitcher under contract through 2028. Atlantas interest still underscored how aggressively it was willing to shop for top-tier arms, even if the most intriguing targets stayed out of reach and the deadline came and went without the kind of blockbuster move some around the game had wondered about. [Read more 🡒]