Disastrous former SF Giants closer lands with Nationals on minor league deal

It is easy to forget a lot of things that happened in 2020. It was a wild year. But if you followed the SF Giants closely during that pandemic-shortened season, then you remember all too well how badly Trevor Gott struggled as closer.

The Giants did not have much of a bullpen that season which is why Gott was called upon to close out games despite not having experience as a closer. He did okay at first, but things quickly went off the rails as he allowed eleven earned runs in three appearances that spanned four days in games that the Giants lost by one run each.

The Giants missed out on the playoffs by just one game that season, and even though it was an odd year and no one even remembers who won the World Series, it still stung.

Disastrous SF Giants closer keeps career alive with Nationals

To Gott's credit, he did much better the rest of that season, but he never pitched with the Giants in the big leagues again after that.

The Kentucky native bounced around on different teams in the following years, pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022 and the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets in 2023 which is the last time he pitched in the big leagues.

Gott missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and reunited with the Mariners on a minor league deal in 2025. He made 22 Triple-A appearances in Tacoma last season and pitched to an 8.20 ERA.

Now, Ken Rosenthal reports that Gott has signed on a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals. Presumably he will be invited to spring training and perhaps he can make the squad if he impresses in Florida.

Relievers have a funny way of coming back out of nowhere, sort of like how Lou Trivino emerged last spring with the Giants even though he hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2022.

As for the Giants, their bullpen situation is still very much up in the air. They opted to add a lot of low-cost depth pieces which may be the wisest way to construct a bullpen, but there are still serious questions about who will close and pitch the late innings for the team.

A reunion with Gott was probably never in the cards, but expect to see some guys who the Giants signed on minor league contracts pitch some big innings for San Francisco in 2026.