SF Giants could have elite back end of bullpen in 2025 season

The SF Giants have a number of question marks all over their roster going into 2025, and the bullpen is one of them. While there are question marks surrounding their relievers, there is also the potential that the bullpen could be a key strength for the Giants.

The 2024 Giants had an average bullpen in 2024. The team ranked in the middle of the pack among MLB teams with a 4.09 ERA amongst their relievers. That is not terrible by any means, but there is plenty of room for improvement.

If the Giants are going to be a playoff team in 2025, it is almost certainly going to have to be because they have a strong pitching staff. We all know that a massive part of the team's success in the 2010's was their strong bullpen with the infamous Core Four at the heart of it.

SF Giants could actually have a good bullpen in 2025

The Giants may not have a "Core Four" right now, but they could potentially have a "Nifty Three" in 2025 if things go right.

The Giants did see their formerly solid closer Camilo Doval falter in 2024 and lose his closer role, posting a career-high 4.88 ERA in 59 innings pitched. President of baseball operations Buster Posey and manager Bob Melvin seem to think that 2024 was an outlier for the 27-year-old. If they are right about that and they get the 2022 or 2023 version of Doval, that could be a huge boost for the bullpen.

Doval's replacement Ryan Walker stepped in and pitched great, looking very comfortable as a closer. Walker posted a very impressive 1.91 ERA in a whopping 80 innings pitched. If he can continue to pitch as well as he did in 2024, the Giants should feel good about their chances when taking a lead into the 9th inning.

Someone who can be forgotten at times in the bullpen is Tyler Rogers. The right-handed submariner may not be your stereotypical late reliever with a fastball that tops out in the low-80's, but he has been very consistent for the Giants. He has pitched 70 or more innings in each of the last four seasons and has had an ERA of 2.90 over the last four seasons.

Rogers can be somewhat divisive amongst fans given the fact that he has blown his fair number of saves over the years, but as a set-up man he has proven to be very effective. If he can remain solid as the team's primary 8th inning guy, they should be in good shape.

In a perfect world next season, the Giants would get six solid innings from their starting pitcher and then hand things over to Doval in the 7th, Rogers in the 8th, and Walker in the 9th to shut the door. We know that each pitcher at his best can be very effective and nasty against opposing hitters.

Of course, we know that the job of an MLB reliever is incredibly fickle. One year you can have it and look unhittable and then the next year you can't find the strike zone like Doval. The Giants would need the stars to align somewhat, but if they can get a solid version of all three of these relievers they could have a very good back end of their bullpen in 2025.