SF Giants may get into bidding war with Dodgers for All-Star reliever

The SF Giants have a clear need to improve their bullpen going into the 2026 season, but the arch rival Los Angeles Dodgers also have a need in their bullpen which could lead to a bidding war for one of the premier relievers on the market in Devin Williams.

MLB insider Jeff Passan has said that adding Williams would make a lot of sense for the Giants. The Giants' bullpen was decimated last season by injury and trading away Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval so adding a big piece like Williams could do a lot to stabilize the back-end of the bullpen.

SF Giants may get into bidding war with Dodgers over reliever

Williams is coming off a brutal 2025 season with the New York Yankees. He had a career-worst 4.79 ERA and looked like a far cry from the two-time All-Star he was in Milwaukee with the Brewers. In 2023 with Milwaukee he had a 1.53 ERA and 36 saves but his one season in New York is cause for concern.

The fact that the Dodgers are reportedly interested in Williams only complicates matters further. It is not a huge shock when the Dodgers are connected to any free agent, but the fact that they can practically print money could make it hard for the Giants to compete with LA if they really want Williams.

Getting into a pricey bidding war over a reliever who is coming off a career-worst season may be the dumbest thing the Giants could do this offseason. Spending a lot of money on a closer is not the smartest strategy and has come back to bite the Giants before, i.e. Mark Melancon.

There are other pricey relievers out there as well the Giants could pursue, but those relievers are going to cost a lot and there is no guarantee that they will be effective.

Acquiring big relievers and closers is always a risky endeavor. The Dodgers signed Tanner Scott to a huge four-year $72 million contract last offseason to be their closer but he struggled mightily and did not even pitch in the playoffs. LA's bullpen was so bad that the Dodgers had no other choice than to rely on Yoshinobu Yamamoto on no rest in Game 7.

We will have to see how aggressive the Giants choose to be in the reliever market, but getting into a bidding war for Devin Williams with the Dodgers is not a strategy for success.