Tony Vitello naming a closer won't make SF Giants fans feel any better about bullpen

The SF Giants' bullpen situation has deteriorated over the course of the season. The team does not have a legitimate closer and even though manager Tony Vitello just named Caleb Kilian as the team’s closer, that’s not going to make anyone feel better about the state of the bullpen.

The Giants were notably reticent to officially name a closer early this season. It was safe to assume that Ryan Walker would get the bulk of save opportunities at the start of the season and he did, but it quickly became clear that he had not adequately rebounded from his struggles last year.

That led to a period where there really wasn’t a defined closer. Erik Miller got some save opportunities for a bit, then Caleb Kilian started getting some chances, and Keaton Winn became the ninth inning guy for a bit.

All of them struggled for the most part so if the Giants were hoping that someone, literally anyone, would grab hold of the role and run with it they were sorely mistaken. 

Giants' lack of a closer has more to do with front office

It’s really not their fault. None of them have ever proven they can be consistent closers at the big league level. They are all mid-tier relievers at best and there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just a reminder that the front office did not make any meaningful investments in the bullpen during the offseason and it has predictably led to bullpen struggles.

Kilian makes the most sense as the closer of the options available. He’s converted four of his five save opportunities and the only one he blew was in Coors Field so there’s a mini asterisk next to that one.

He has a 3.34 ERA on the season in 29 and 2/3 innings pitched. He’s been one of Vitello’s most reliable arms in the bullpen so it makes sense for the Giants to go forward with him as the closer.

But would it really shock anyone if there’s a new closer in a couple of weeks? Ryan Walker just got called back up after some time in Triple-A so maybe he will get yet another opportunity to be the team’s closer.

The merry-go-round has likely not come to a halt just yet so even though the Giants took a big step towards giving the bullpen some stability there’s still a long way to go before fans actually trust the team's relievers.

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