Resurgent SF Giants reliever may have blown his chance to make team with one outing

Coming into spring training, SF Giants pitcher Keaton Winn was looking to reinvent himself as a reliever. He was looking quite good in a relief role, but he may have just derailed his chances to make the Opening Day roster with his latest outing.

Winn had only allowed one run in 6 and 1/3 innings of work entering Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He had a very rough outing against Arizona as he allowed four earned runs on two walks and two hits including a home run.

Winn may be out of Giants bullpen competition after rough outing

It may be unfair that one tough outing could decide whether he makes the team or not, but Winn had to essentially be flawless this spring to earn a spot. He has struggled with injuries and poor performances even when he has been on a mound in recent seasons.

Winn entered the 2024 season coming off a solid MLB debut in 2023. He was in the rotation but did not last long with a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts.

2025 was not much better as he allowed five earned runs in 10 innings of work with the Giants and struggled to the tune of a 7.90 ERA in 18 minor league appearances.

The hope was that 2026 could be a fresh start for Winn. He worked in the offseason with fellow Iowan Mitch Keller and had clarity on his role entering this season.

Even with the rough outing, Winn could still be on track for a solid 2026 season. He may not make the Opening Day roster, but he seems to be healthy which is obviously step one. If he can start the year in Triple-A and prove that he can be an effective reliever, it would not be a shock at all to see him with the Giants at some point this season.

San Francisco will likely break camp with eight relievers, but expect the bullpen to be in a constant state of flux early in the season. There are a lot of question marks with the group of arms assembled so it is going to take some time for the new coaching staff to figure things out.

Winn's rough outing over the weekend probably cost him a chance to break camp with the team, but he is definitely going to be a guy to keep an eye on this season and might just establish himself as a solid bullpen arm.