SF Giants will need to thread the needle with arbitration to upgrade the bullpen

The SF Giants have nine players eligible for arbitration this winter, and many of them are relievers. While upgrading the bullpen is an obvious priority, arbitration will point to what type of work the Giants plan to do on that unit.

As things currently stand, it is fair to say that Dylan Smith and Trent Harris pitched well enough to return to the bullpen next season. Should they both be leverage relievers? In a good bullpen, Smith is likely a little lower on the hierarchy.

The Giants should address the bullpen in a way that upgrades the leverage spots and pushes nearly everyone down one or two spots. A good bullpen tends to have five or six reliable relievers. The Giants come in well below that, but Harris and Smith can be part of a good bullpen.

After that is where things quickly become tricky. Of the Giants nine arbitration-eligible players, seven of them are relievers. This includes Ryan Walker, Camilo Doval, Sam Hentges, Jason Foley, Rowan Wick, José Buttó, and Randy Rodríguez.

If the Giants tender all seven a contract for 2027, then that quickly fills out the rest of the bullpen. That almost certainly will not happen. Perhaps, the only truly easy decision is Rodríguez. He is projected to earn $800,000 in his first turn through arbitration and is expected to begin a rehab assignment in the Arizona Fall League.

Walker is a likely non-tender candidate, given his struggles over the past couple of years. Wick is a weird inclusion because the Giants hold a team option for him next year, but if they decline it, he has a chance to go through arbitration instead. Arbitration is typically an area where clubs can shave costs, but the savings on Wick would be immaterial if they pick up his arbitration or decline it and agree to a salary through arbitration.

Buttó missed most of the year after undergoing a procedure to remove a blood clot in his pitching arm. When healthy, he has served more as a middle reliever, which is problematic for a bullpen that might already have too many middle relievers.

The SF Giants will likely want to avoid bringing back too many of the same faces for next year's bullpen

The tougher calls are Doval, Foley, and Hentges. The Giants seemingly picked up Doval at the end of the year with the intent on retaining him through the remainder of his rookie deal. He is projected to earn $6.6 million through arbitration, so the Giants have a decision to make. They could simply agree to a deal just below that at the non-tender deadline. It is not a prohibitive amount.

Cost is not an issue for Foley or Hentges, but retaining either or both limits what the Giants can do with those roster spots. Both were returning from often career-altering shoulder surgery, and not surprisingly, the results were not great.

Foley pitched to a 4.15 ERA in 24 appearances with San Francisco. Despite having prior experience as a closer, he is an extreme-contact pitcher. That can work, but it requires a pitcher to effectively pitch to contact. The veteran hurler has done that before, even if that was not the case in 2026.

On the other hand, Hentges posted a 3.14 ERA in 45 outings. While the overall run prevention was solid, there were some concerning underlying numbers, including a 4.64 xFIP, and he displayed poor control.

Hentges likely benefited from usage because he often came into games with runners on base and was not particularly effective in that role. He allowed 34 percent of inherited runners to score. He also hardly pitched long enough for the opposing team to do any type of damage. Tony Vitello used Hentges as a situational lefty reliever, but left-handed hitters posted a .792 OPS against him in 83 plate appearances in 2026. He allowed only a .551 OPS in 90 plate appearances as well.

If the Giants bring back Doval, Hentges, Foley, José Buttó, and Randy Rodríguez, that leaves one opening in the bullpen. The Giants plan to address the bullpen, but bringing back nearly all of the same faces while adding an experienced closer will not inspire much confidence. This is a unit that struggled to a 4.14 ERA this past season, so in this scenario, they would be conveying that the ninth inning was the real issue. However, problems ran up and down that bullpen. They need to add at the top to raise the ceiling and build from the bottom to improve depth, but the non-tender deadline should suggest what direction the Giants plan to go.

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