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Why Randy Rodríguez cannot be SF Giants' plan at closer going into 2027

They need to ease him back into things.
ByNick San Miguel
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San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Randy Rodriguez (73) returns to the dugout during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Randy Rodriguez (73) returns to the dugout during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The SF Giants have to be incredibly encouraged with the way that reliever Randy Rodríguez has looked in the Arizona Fall League. His first appearance was really solid and he followed that up with another scoreless outing where he was hitting 98 miles per hour. The Giants cannot go into next season thinking he is going to be their closer, though.

I touched on this thought in a recent article which was more about how the Giants shouldn’t use Rodríguez’s return from injury as an excuse to not be as aggressive in adding arms to the bullpen, but I also think they really shouldn’t use Rodríguez as a closer at all in 2027 unless they absolutely have to.

While Rodríguez was simply dominant and borderline un-hittable in the first half of 2025 which earned him an All-Star nod, after the trade deadline when San Francisco traded away Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval he was forced into the closer role.

It didn’t go very well as he only converted four of his seven save opportunities that season. He didn’t convert either of his two save opportunities as a rookie in 2024 so in his big league career he has only converted four of nine opportunities when given the ball in the ninth inning.

Even in the minors he didn’t have very many saves so closing the door and getting the final three outs of the game is just something he is not all that accustomed to doing. While it’s more than fair to point out that he was likely dealing with elbow issues while trying to close games in the second half of 2025 before they had to shut him down and he underwent surgery, it would be foolish if the Giants think they can just plug him into that role coming off Tommy John.

That’s why the Giants have to get a legitimate closer in the offseason. Even if it’s just a one-year deal for Kenley Jansen or something like that, they cannot go into next season not knowing who their closer is the way they did in 2026.

Giants need to try to rebuild the 2025 bullpen they had

Maybe Rodríguez can grow into the closer role throughout the season if he looks like the guy he was in 2025, but to start the year he should really be limited to sixth or seventh inning duties which is how he was used for the first half of 2025.

It’s worth remembering that a big part of why the Giants were good the first few months of that season is because of how rock-solid the bullpen was. Even though Ryan Walker was a dud as closer, once he was swapped out for Camilo Doval the last three innings had a very clear blueprint: Rodríguez in the seventh, Rogers in the eighth, Doval in the ninth.

They may not have Rogers anymore, but going into 2027 with a plan of Rodríguez being used in the seventh, Doval in the eighth, and someone like Jansen in the ninth would not be too bad at all.

Rodríguez looks great in the AFL but the Giants have to ease him back into things next season and throwing him to the wolves in the ninth right away would not be a smart move. 

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