Giants urged by rivals to consider closer trade

The San Francisco Giants have stumbled out of the gates in the second half of the MLB season. They already made a trade for Rafael Devers, but that doesn’t mean they are going to buy at the trade deadline. San Francisco is out of the playoffs entering Monday’s action, and rival executives think they should sell. The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Andrew Baggarly spoke to rival GMs, pushing the Giants to trade Camilo Doval at the MLB trade deadline.

“Once Thursday’s deadline passes, right-hander Camilo Doval is indeed expected to remain a part of the team’s bullpen. But are the Giants missing an opportunity? Rival executives wonder if the Giants should entertain offers for Doval, given San Francisco’s needs elsewhere and the general state of the reliever market.”

The Giants have Doval under team control through 2027. He is having a great year, with a 3.22 ERA and 15 saves in his fifth MLB season. Despite their current standing, San Francisco should make a push for the postseason in August and September. Doval will be a big piece of that push and should be their closer next year.

But the report offers a counter to that, with so few bullpen arms available and the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins driving a hard bargain. The Giants should at least field offers for Doval, as they could replenish their prospect pipeline after the Devers trade.

The Giants would be able to shift Randy Rodriguez right into the closer role if they dealt Doval. He was an All-Star this year and was on a hot streak before blowing Sunday’s game to the New York Mets. But having two shutdown arms in the bullpen is better than one, even with the playoffs anything but guaranteed.

The Giants play the Pirates this week before the trade deadline on Thursday.