SF Giants' potential bullpen savior suffers setback during rehab assignment

With how bad the SF Giants’ bullpen has been this season, it’s only natural for fans to start looking around hoping someone can burst through the door to save them. Really the only potential savior the Giants currently have is reliever Jason Foley but he just suffered a setback in his rehab.

This is according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area who shared the following on social media: “Giants say righty reliever Jason Foley was pulled off his rehab assignment due to shoulder fatigue. He will be shut down for a few days and return to pitching over the weekend. He was nearing the end of rehab clock anyway, so this gives him more time.”

At least it was not a disastrous setback but it was a setback nonetheless. Our own Jeff Young noted recently that the Giants have to make a decision soon on Foley since his rehab assignment is set to end. Maybe the Giants are just being cautious with him while also buying themselves a little more time.

After the team blew Monday’s game against the Washington Nationals due to yet another blown save, the Giants are clearly still searching for answers in the bullpen. It seemed like Keaton Winn was earning the closer role but after two blown saves in the last three days the Giants may once again have to search for a new pitcher to take on ninth inning duties.

They’ve already cycled through Ryan Walker who is in Triple-A, Erik Miller who has only gotten a few tries, and Caleb Kilian who looked pretty solid but ran into some struggles and coughed up a rough one against the Colorado Rockies. Now Winn could be added to that list.

Dylan Smith may be next in line. He pitched great on Sunday night to secure the save in extra innings against the Chicago Cubs. He doesn’t have a ton of experience under his belt but at this point the Giants may as well just try it.

Foley could be next in line for Giants closer role pretty soon

When he inevitably flames out then the Giants can turn to Foley. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2024 with the Detroit Tigers but he recorded 28 saves that season so he’s gotten the job done before.

Of course, coming off injury no one knows for sure how effective he will be. In Triple-A Sacramento during his rehab assignment he’s got a 2.08 ERA in eight appearances. He’s struck out six and walked one in 8 and 2/3 innings so it seems like he is throwing the ball pretty well.

It’s unreasonable to expect him to come back and slide into the closer role right away. Maybe the Giants can start him off as a middle relief guy and slowly work him back into the late innings as the season goes on.

With the way the season has gone, the Giants aren’t going to go out and trade for a closer at the deadline unless a miracle happens so Foley is likely the team’s last hope for a stable closer in the 2026 season which shows just how bleak things are.

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