The Giants spent 2026 leaning hard on a pitching staff that never quite settled, and that makes their offseason decisions pretty straightforward in one spot and far trickier in another.
JT Brubaker looks like the arm worth keeping around. Camilo Doval, despite the name recognition and the flashes, looks like the one San Francisco can let walk.
Brubaker wasn’t the headliner in the bullpen, but he gave the Giants something they badly need again: innings. In 60.1 frames over 41 appearances, he put up a 3.58 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.
He also made one start and picked up two saves, the kind of flexibility that lets a manager use him wherever the day demands. Tony Vitello had that option, and the Giants will want that kind of versatility again.
There are obvious limits here. Brubaker struck out 39 hitters, faded late, and landed on the injured list in August with bruised ribs.
That’s enough reason to avoid a long-term commitment. It’s not enough to ignore the value of 60 effective innings on a staff that heads into 2027 with Logan Webb and Landen Roupp as the clearest starters, plus several young pitchers still working back from elbow surgery.
He made $1.82 million in 2026, and the next number is anyone’s guess. Still, a modest one-year deal makes sense for a pitcher who can soak up multiple innings while younger arms fight for bigger jobs. The alternative would be piecing together that workload through several separate additions, which only adds more work to an offseason that already calls for a starter and late-inning relief help.
Doval, meanwhile, gave San Francisco a moment that still jumps off the page. In his first appearance back at Oracle Park, he struck out Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Dalton Rushing in a scoreless inning against the Dodgers. He also has real closing pedigree, with 39 saves for the Giants in 2023.
But the bigger body of work in 2026 doesn’t support paying up. Across three clubs, Doval finished with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.
Pittsburgh designated him for assignment before the Giants claimed him, and he made $6.1 million this season. Arbitration would almost certainly push that figure higher, and San Francisco would be paying for the chance that he rediscovers his best form after a year that was uneven from start to finish.
The Giants still need a reliable arm for the late innings, and Doval could still become that pitcher again. But they also have a crowded 40-man roster and more pitching additions ahead, and non-tendering him would free up both a roster spot and some cash to chase steadier relief help.
If he’s willing to come back on a cheaper deal, that door can reopen later. For now, Brubaker is the cleaner bet.
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