The camp competition for the Opening Day closer is seemingly finished

The SF Giants entered the spring with an open competition for nearly every bullpen role. This includes who will be the team's closer? While they may have an open competition for the rest of the bullpen, it seems likely that Ryan Walker will return as the closer to start the year.

The camp competition for the Opening Day closer is seemingly finished

The Giants planned to have a competition at closer with Walker and Joel Peguero. However, Peguero has been sidelined with a hamstring injury and his status for Opening Day is now in doubt after suffering a setback.

This could open the door for someone like Michael Fulmer or Gregory Santos to make the club. Both non-roster pitchers have thrown the ball well this spring. In the case of Santos, he has flashed the type of premium velocity that could lead to an eventual leverage role.

The Peguero injury leaves Ryan Walker as the only viable candidate to close out games at this point in the year. That could change down the road if Walker struggles, along with someone like Santos stepping up in a leverage role.

The Giants talked all offseason about how they hope that Walker can rebound after a down season. Relievers can have wild career arcs like that. One season, they are one of the best relievers in baseball. The next season, they are borderline unplayable.

Unplayable is not a term I would use to describe Walker's 2025 season. He pitched to a 4.11 ERA, 3.30 FIP, 1.27 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, and a 3.33 SO/W rate in 61.1 frames. This includes recording 17 saves in 23 chances. That type of production is fine for a lower-leverage role.

Walker started last season as the team's closer, but was supplanted by Camilo Doval when he struggled to close out games. He never regained his footing after that, but was thrust back into the closer role in the final weeks of the season. This was due to injuries and trades that turned the bullpen from a strength to a liability by the end of the season.

It would have been easy to blame Bob Melvin for continuing to stick with Walker to end the season, but he did not have any better options. Bullpen management involves making the right moves at the right time, but managers need to have the personnel to leverage as well. By the end of the year, Melvin did not have the personnel.

Walker has made only a couple of appearances this spring. He has recorded four strikeouts and only one walk across two innings of work. There is a good chance that he returns to the closer role to start the year, especially since they do not have any other alternatives.