The Giants have a bullpen problem to solve, and Camilo Doval is sitting right in the middle of it.
On pure stuff, he still offers exactly the kind of arm teams covet in the late innings. His cutter averaged 98.8 mph in 2026, and his slider produced misses on 48.4% of swings.
After the Giants brought him back in September, he struck out four Dodgers over two scoreless innings. That’s the version of Doval that keeps the door open for a meaningful role in San Francisco.
The problem is the price tag. MLB Trade Rumors’ Matt Swartz projects Doval at $6.6 million through arbitration, which would make him the Giants’ most expensive projected arbitration case. It’s only an estimate, and the final number will still have to be negotiated or decided through arbitration, but it’s enough to force a hard winter conversation.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey has already made the bullpen an offseason priority, and keeping Doval would at least preserve a familiar arm while the front office looks for help around him. The upside is obvious: the commitment would cover one season, and if Doval finds his command, San Francisco could get late-inning value without tying itself to a multi-year deal. Replacing that kind of velocity and swing-and-miss ability on the open market could cost more, or last longer.
But the numbers from his full season tell a tougher story. Doval finished 2026 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP over 60.2 innings.
He walked 12.1% of the batters he faced, and his strikeout rate dropped to 24.2% from 31.0% in his All-Star 2023 season. The slider still misses bats, but the overall production wasn’t close to the level that usually lets a team shrug off command issues.
That leaves San Francisco with a role question as much as a talent question. If the Giants are paying that salary, they need a clear plan for where Doval fits, and the recent performance doesn’t make it easy to argue that he should anchor a rebuilt bullpen.
The cleaner move is to shop him before the tender deadline and non-tender him if nothing comes together. The Giants could still circle back on a cheaper reunion afterward, though he would be free to sign elsewhere by then.
That path carries a risk, because Doval could absolutely rediscover his best form somewhere else. San Francisco may have to live with that and steer the money toward pitchers whose control gives them more reliable value.
The arm is still tempting. The decision is whether the Giants are willing to pay for the version of Doval they hope to get, not the one they actually saw in 2026.
In Other News...
Giants Still Have One Possible Edge In Tarik Skubal Pursuit
Tarik Skubals free agency figure is already drawing plenty of attention around the Bay Area, and the Giants have a natural thread to pull on with a pitcher who grew up close enough to know the region well. With the Dodgers out of the postseason and speculation swirling about whether they will try to keep the left-hander, the market for one of the top names available figures to get crowded quickly. San Francisco can point to home-area familiarity as a possible advantage, even if there is still plenty of uncertainty about how aggressively it will move.
The bigger question is whether that connection matters enough to outweigh the usual free-agent calculus of money and winning. Skubal is going to have choices, and the Giants will need to decide whether they are willing to present a deal that belongs in the top tier of the market. For now, there have been no official moves, just the sense that San Francisco has at least one possible edge if it chooses to press its case. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Pitching Overhaul Keeps Taking Shape Behind The Scenes
The offseason picture around the Giants is already starting to take shape, and it reaches well beyond their own roster. San Francisco is among the clubs scouting Japanese right-handers Hiromi Itoh and Taira, both expected to be posted this winter, a reminder that the front office is tracking every possible avenue to add pitching depth as it looks ahead to 2026. On the other side of the division, the Dodgers have openly heard from Alex Vesia and Enrique Hernandez about a possible return in free agency, a sign that the market around the West is beginning to stir.
For the Giants, the pitching need is hardly a mystery. Randy Rodriguez is in the Arizona Fall League as part of his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and the club is expected to pursue additional bullpen help even with his rehab moving along. Around the division, the Rockies are reshaping their own pitching operation too, considering a new coaching role tied to advance reports and in-game adjustments after moving on from pitching coach Alon Leichman after just one season. The dominoes are already falling in different directions, and San Francisco will be watching closely as the market for arms takes form. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Have A Matt Chapman Question They Cant Ignore
Matt Chapmans first season in San Francisco did not play out the way the Giants envisioned when they committed to him, even if the glove stayed dependable. His offense slipped during the 2026 season, finishing with a .235/.324/.368 line, seven home runs and 42 RBIs before a core muscle injury ended his year and sent him to season-ending surgery.
Now the Giants have to balance what Chapman still brings defensively with the uncertainty around his health and production moving forward. With a long-term commitment on the books, the organization is expected to be more careful with him in 2027, hoping that a lighter workload can help preserve both his availability and the bat that has become too important to leave to chance. [Read more 🡒]