Rival executives believe that the SF Giants should entertain the idea of trading closer

While the SF Giants plan to buy at the MLB trade deadline, could they shift gears and do a modest sell-off? According to Will Sammon and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (subscription required), rival executives believe that the Giants should entertain the idea of trading All-Star reliever Camilo Doval.

Rival executives believe that the SF Giants should entertain the idea of trading closer

The bullpen market tends to be robust around this time of year. However, some of the top names, including Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians and Griffin Jax of the Minnesota Twins, come with a high cost.

Both relievers are in the midst of relatively down seasons, so teams are trying to capture on potential buy-low opportunities. However, each reliever has multiple years of team control remaining, and that is a quality that often comes with a high price.

Teams could shift gears to a pitcher like Camilo Doval. Similar to Clase and Jax, Doval has two more years of team control after this season. He is earning $4.5 million in his first turn through arbitration. That cost will only increase, but those increases should be modest.

Doval has not been quite the same as he was in his All-Star season in 2023, when he posted a 2.93 ERA with 39 saves in 47 opportunities. He does not have the complete dominant season that Clase of Jax have had in recent seasons, but he has certainly been effective as well.

That said, the hard-throwing reliever went through a rough patch in 2024. He pitched to a 4.88 ERA in 62 outings while losing his role as the team's closer and briefly being demoted to Triple-A. The 2025 season has been more of a resurgent campaign. Doval has a 3.22 ERA across 44.2 innings. While that number is solid, there has been a sharp decrease in his strikeout rate to 9.1 K/9, down from a career 11.1 K/9 mark.

The Giants are in the midst of a losing streak at just about the worst time in the year. They have lost three straight games and are outside of the Wild Card race with a 54-52 record. The Giants sit three games out of the third Wild Card spot, which is not insurmountable.

With Buster Posey in charge, they will likely still look to upgrade the roster. However, trying to get value by moving Doval is a move that also has its merits.