Buster Posey ‘bullish’ on Camilo Doval returning to SF Giants in 2025

DALLAS — Buster Posey and Zack Minasian weren’t at liberty to discuss the reported seven-year, $182 million agreement with shortstop Willy Adames on the first day of the Winter Meetings. The deal is not yet official, and the closest Posey got to tipping his hand was revealing that Tyler Fitzgerald, last year’s starting shortstop, will move to second base.

What Posey did disclose was the future of a certain flamethrowing reliever.

Posey tossed water on the possibility of the Giants trading right-hander Camilo Doval, the one-time All-Star who just endured the rockiest season of his major-league career.

“I’m pretty bullish on him coming back,” said the Giants’ new president of baseball operations. “This guy’s got the potential to be a lockdown piece. We’ve seen it right? He’s got nearly 100 saves in the big leagues. That doesn’t happen by accident. I’m excited to have a chance to talk with him. Obviously, getting to catch him, I know the personality a little bit.”

Posey, having caught Doval during the reliever’s rookie season, knows what Doval looks like at his best. This past season was far from that.

Doval entered 2024 as the Giants’ closer after posting a 2.77 ERA with 69 saves in his first three seasons, but lost that role by early August when San Francisco optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento. At the time of his demotion, Doval had a 4.70 ERA over 44 innings while walking nearly six batters per nine innings.

“Everybody’s going to, at some point in time, go through some struggles,” said manager Bob Melvin. “It’s how you handle it, and I think he’s handled it beautifully. He went down there and he worked on the things we asked him to. It’s very rare you find guys who throw 99 (mph) and have a wipeout slider and hitters aren’t comfortable in the box.”

Upon returning from Sacramento in late August, Doval had a 5.40 ERA over 15 innings but ended the season with four consecutive scoreless outings. All told, he finished with a career-worst 4.88 ERA over 59 innings.

Right-hander Ryan Walker assumed the closer role in Doval’s absence, finishing his sophomore season with a 1.91 ERA over 80 innings with 10 saves. Given Walker’s late-season dominance — he allowed two earned runs over the last two months of the season — he stands to assume the closer role next season.

Despite Doval’s struggles, he still possesses the foundation to be a good — if not great — bullpen arm. His velocity remains elite (96th percentile of average fastball velocity) and his slider, one with an above-average movement profile, is still effective. If Doval can trim the free passes — his 5.95 walks per nine innings was the highest among all relievers — it’s not difficult to envision the right-hander re-gaining a leverage role in San Francisco’s bullpen.

“It’s how you kind of process and move forward when you have some struggles. Sometimes it can end up being good for you and making you better,” said Melvin. “We’re excited about having him back. We’ll see what roles look like, but he’s been a closer. He’s been an All-Star. The stuff hasn’t gone away. There’s a lot to like about him.”

Adding to the rotation remains priority

While Posey, Minasian and Melvin didn’t discuss the team’s new shortstop, San Francisco’s brass did talk about another area of need: the starting rotation.

The Giants, as things stand, can roll out a five-man rotation of Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong with Landon Roupp, Keaton Winn, Mason Black and Carson Whisenhunt as depth options. Following a season where San Francisco’s starters ranked 29th in innings pitched despite Logan Webb leading the National League in frames, Posey believes San Francisco needs another starter who can carry the load.

“We’ll just have to see what our options look like,” Posey said. “Again, I just want to re-emphasize that there’s a lot of belief in this group. Gosh, they’re so young still. I think Harrison (will be) 23-and-a-half on Opening Day, something like that. I’m excited to see what they can do.”

Since the Giants already have starting options, acquiring another rotation piece would force San Francisco to shuffle its rotation. If the Giants sign a free-agent starter, could Hicks or Birdsong transition to the bullpen? Would Birdsong start the season in Triple-A altogether? When asked how the Giants balance their pursuit of external options while being mindful of their internal options, Minasian cited the importance of gathering opinions.

“Can a pitcher be helped out by getting a little bit more seasoning, whether it’s in the minor leagues, whether that’s in a different role?” Minasian said. “Are we doing a pitcher a disservice by doing that? How much do we want to push those arms, not only from a performance standpoint, but also from a health standpoint.”

Posey discusses Soto pursuit

Following failed pursuits of superstars Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in recent years, the Giants didn’t emerge as finalists for Juan Soto, who reportedly signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. Still, Posey revealed that there were discussions about jumping in the negotiations.

When asked why San Francisco wasn’t all-in on the pursuit, Posey said, “I think we’re just trying to look around — the two of us — and say, what do we think our greatest needs are for the San Francisco Giants next year and trying to address those needs accordingly.”

Regarding the contract value — Soto’s deal is the largest in professional sports history — Posey said he “didn’t know where it was going to go.” Melvin, who managed Soto in San Diego, told reporters that he was happy for Soto.

“My first thought is that my oldest kids will be 28 when he’s done playing,” Posey said. “That really puts it in perspective. He’s a generational talent. He’s good. I don’t know what to say other than that. What he does to a lineup, he’s an extraordinary player.”