Disappointing former SF Giants closer lands coaching gig in California

Former SF Giants reliever Mark Melancon last pitched in the big leagues in 2022. He bounced around a lot in his big league career but has now found a nice landing spot as the new pitching development coordinator at San Diego State.

The SF Giants signed Mark Melancon prior to the 2017 season thinking he would be their closer of the future. It...did not work out that way. He was signed to a 4-year, $62 million deal. He was meant to address the team's bullpen deficiencies that were put on full display in Game 4 of the 2016 NLDS when the bullpen exploded and blew a 3-run lead.

Former SF Giants closer Mark Melancon now a coach at San Diego State

Melancon was coming off 2 straight All-Star seasons in which he had 51 and 47 saves respectively. He seemed like a very sure bet to come in and provide some stability at the back end of the bullpen but things just did not work out that way.

His time as a Giant got off to an inauspicious start when he blew the save on Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was the game when Madison Bumgarner hit two home runs and the Giants still lost. No wonder 2017 was such an awful year.

Things did not get much better for him as he recorded a 4.50 ERA on the year and only converted 11/16 save opportunities. He spent time on the IL as well and eventually was shut down to undergo surgery on his right forearm.

2018 and 2019 were better for him, but he was never the dominant closer that the Giants were hoping for when they gave him that big contract. He only recorded 15 saves in his career as a Giant across 3 seasons.

In 2019, the Giants traded Melancon to the Atlanta Braves in one of the shrewder moves made by Farhan Zaidi. Somehow, he got the Braves to take on all of Melancon's remaining contract and was also able to acquire Tristan Beck who is still on the Giants and figures to factor into the team's plans in 2025.

Melancon still had some good pitching left in him though. In 2021 he had a resurgent year and was an All-Star for the San Diego Padres recording 39 saves with a 2.23 ERA. He followed that up with a down year for the Arizona Diamondbacks where he had a 4.33 ERA before injuries put him on the shelf for all of 2023.

Now, in his post-playing career it seems he has found a nice situation with SDSU. He can pass on all of the wisdom he gained over the course of his 14 years in the big leagues and can do it at a great baseball program in one of the most beautiful cities in the country.

Things did not work out as planned in San Francisco which is a shame. Melancon seems like a good dude and even wrote a great piece in The Players' Tribune about why he chose the Giants in free agency and includes a very funny story about him and Hunter Pence doing yoga.

Let's hope things go well at SDSU and he has a fulfilling coaching career.