Newest SF Giants flamethrower has great chance to establish himself in bullpen

The SF Giants made some roster moves on Thursday. One of them was to select the contract of right-handed reliever Joel Peguero from Triple-A Sacramento. The flamethrower has a great chance to make a good impression.

Peguero was impressive in his MLB debut on Thursday. He came in and delivered two scoreless innings while allowing two hits, one walk, and striking out one batter.

New SF Giants reliever Joel Peguero makes solid first impression

The Giants added Peguero on a minor league deal last November. He got an invite to spring training and pitched very well, earning the Barney Nugent Award which is given to the player in Giants spring training who best exemplifies the spirit of the Giants.

Peguero has unreal fastball velocity. He threw a pitch at 102 miles per hour on Thursday which was the hardest pitch any Giants pitcher has thrown all season.

It is a bit surprising that a guy who throws that hard is a rookie at the age of 28, but delving into his minor league stats shows that he has always had a propensity to give out free passes and, as is the case with a lot of flamethrowers, probably struggles with his command at times.

Despite this, Peguero has a great opportunity to try and earn a spot in next year's bullpen. After the Giants traded away both Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval, it has opened the door for some more unheralded relievers to try and pad out the team's bullpen going into next season.

Veterans like Joey Lucchesi and Matt Gage have already made strong cases to be in the bullpen next year. Peguero could certainly insert himself right into that conversation if he can finish the season strong with the Giants.

Who knows, he could even be a potential closer candidate depending on how the young All-Star Randy Rodríguez fares in the role. Rodríguez has looked a little shaky early on so the Giants could be thinking of alternate options if he proves he cannot consistently handle ninth inning duties.

At the very least, Peguero could make a case for himself to be an option to close out games if Rodríguez is unavailable because he needs a rest or pitched on back-to-back days.

There are not many interesting storylines with the Giants since their playoff hopes are all but dashed thanks to their terrible play as of late, but Peguero is a guy to keep an eye on who could earn himself a spot in the bullpen for 2026.

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