The Giants are making their intentions plain as they sift through the roster late in the season, and their latest bullpen shuffle says plenty about where things stand.
San Francisco announced Saturday that right-hander Joel Kuhnel was reporting to the major league club after being claimed off waivers the day before from the Milwaukee Brewers. To get him onto the roster, the Giants sent Ryan Walker back to Triple-A Sacramento.
On the surface, it’s a simple transaction. In practice, it’s a sharp pivot.
Walker entered the 2026 season as the Giants’ closer and had already built a real track record in the bullpen over the past few years. But this season has gone sideways fast.
Through 32.2 innings, he owns a 7.16 ERA and 1.81 WHIP, with just three saves. That’s also the third time he has been sent to Triple-A this year.
The drop-off is hard to ignore when you compare it to what he had done over the previous two seasons, when he piled up 27 saves and 30 holds. After an early stumble, he lost the closer role and has been trying ever since to rediscover the version of himself that once made him the Giants’ go-to arm.
Instead, the club is giving a look to a pitcher it has never even seen in its own uniform.
Kuhnel, 31, spent time this season with both the Athletics and Brewers. He arrives with a 1-3 record, a 4.84 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 35 appearances and 35.1 innings. He has six saves.
What makes Kuhnel especially interesting is that he is out of minor-league options. That means the Giants can’t just stash him in the minors while keeping him on the 40-man roster. If he doesn’t stick, they’ll have to expose him to waivers again.
So this is an immediate test.
To clear space, San Francisco moved catcher Jesus Rodriguez to the 60-day injured list on Friday, then opened an active spot by optioning Walker.
The timing also fits with the message Tony Vitello delivered after Thursday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, when he talked about chances opening up for players.
"There will be opportunities for other guys, and the smart ones will sniff that out and they'll do it,"
The Giants are clearly not treating this as a waiting game. They’re sorting through the roster, looking for answers, and making room for whoever shows enough to seize the moment.
In Other News...
Giants May Have Won This Padres Trade Sooner Than Anyone Expected
The Robbie Ray deal at the 2026 trade deadline already looks like one of those moves the Giants could feel for a while. San Francisco sent the veteran pitcher to San Diego and brought back prospects Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez, a pair of younger arms whose early minor league work has given the organization reason to keep paying attention.
For a Giants club always weighing the present against the next wave, that kind of return can matter just as much as a bigger-name headline. The Padres were chasing a playoff push when they made the move, but the longer view in San Francisco now turns on whether Mendez and Hernandez keep building on what they have shown so far and turn a midseason swap into something far more valuable down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Carson Seymour Is Giving The Giants A Bullpen Reason To Watch
Carson Seymours season has taken a sharp turn in the right direction, and the Giants have noticed. After a rough start, the right-hander has settled in over his last 10 relief outings, trimming his ERA to 1.38 while showing the kind of strike-throwing and bat-missing combination that can make a bullpen arm more than just an inning-eater. For a club always looking for reliable innings, especially from someone still carving out his place, that kind of progress matters.
Seymour came up as a starter in the minors, but this year he has been working as a multi-inning reliever for San Francisco, a role that asks for flexibility as much as stuff. The encouraging part for the Giants is not just the results, but the way he has gotten there: more strikeouts, fewer walks, and a simpler approach that seems to have unlocked a more consistent version of him. The larger question now is whether this recent stretch is the start of something sustainable or just a promising run in a crowded bullpen picture. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Young Players Just Got A Much Tougher Message From Vitello
Tony Vitellos first year at the helm has already made the message to the Giants young players pretty clear: chances are being handed out, but they will not be handed out forever. After a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he stressed the need for execution and for players to make the most of the opportunities in front of them, a reminder that the club is still sorting through who can handle bigger roles as the season moves forward.
Vitello also drew a line between development and evaluation, and that is where the pressure starts to build for prospects getting early looks. The Giants are giving some younger players room to show what they can do, but nothing about those spots is settled, and poor stretches can open the door for someone else to step in. [Read more 🡒]