SAN FRANCISCO -- When Camilo Doval was at his best, there was never any doubt about who the Giants would bring in to pitch the ninth inning.
Doval emerged as one of the best relievers in the Majors in 2023, when he earned his first career All-Star nod and tied for the National League lead with 39 saves. The next two seasons proved to be far bumpier, leading to a demotion to Triple-A Sacramento in '24, a return to the closer role in '25, and eventually, a move to the Yankees at last year’s Trade Deadline.
The 28-year-old right-hander got another chance to finish off a game at Oracle Park on Wednesday night, but this time, it came at the Giants’ expense. Doval worked a scoreless ninth inning to seal the Yankees’ 7-0 win on Opening Night, spoiling Tony Vitello’s managerial debut with San Francisco.
Doval didn’t receive the warmest reception when he entered the game, drawing audible boos from the home crowd, but he said he was still happy to be back at his old stomping grounds.
“It brings back nice memories,” Doval said in Spanish before the game. “This is where I started my big league career. I feel really good, and I’m just trying to do my job, like always.”
Doval spent the first five seasons of his career with the Giants and he was a key piece of a bullpen that led the Majors with a 3.14 ERA in the first half last year. But San Francisco’s disastrous start to the second half ultimately compelled president of baseball operations Buster Posey to deal Doval and fellow bullpen stalwart Tyler Rogers for a haul of young prospects at the Deadline.
“It’s part of the game,” said Doval, who was traded in exchange for catcher Jesus Rodriguez (Giants' No. 18 prospect), corner infielder Parks Harber (San Francisco's No. 14 prospect), left-hander Carlos De La Rosa (Giants' No. 27 prospect) and right-hander Trystan Vrieling. “They can move the pieces however they want. They traded me over here, but I’m grateful and always trusting in God.”
COMPLETE GIANTS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Doval frustrated the Giants’ coaching staff with his lack of attention to detail -- he was prone to committing pitch clock violations and was never quick to the plate -- but he was a mentor for other Dominican relievers like Randy Rodríguez and Joel Peguero, who often caught rides to the ballpark with Doval during Spring Training last year.
Despite his ups and downs, Doval said he has plenty of fond moments to look back on when he reflects on his tenure with the Giants.
“I have a lot, including the first time they handed me the ball to close out a game,“ Doval said. “I always believed in myself and gave my 100% when I came into a game.”
Doval’s return comes at a time when the Giants are facing big questions about the state of their current bullpen. Ryan Walker hoped to regain ninth-inning duties after not giving up a run all spring, but Vitello said he doesn’t plan to have a set closer to start the year.
“What we want to do is kind of assess the situation as the game is going on,” Vitello said. “Now with [research and development] and all those things, a lot of those conversations are done well in advance of actually making the move. To be honest with you, there's several scenarios where it could be a few different guys.”
“I think, ideally, you always hope there's somebody that takes that job and solidifies themselves as the closer,” Posey said. “We're not going into the season with that one person locked in as a closer right now.”
The Giants never had a lead on Wednesday, so they didn’t get a chance to test out any late-inning roadmaps against the Yankees. Posey said Walker, Erik Miller, José Buttó and Matt Gage will be options to handle high-leverage situations this year, though the Giants will need other young relievers to step up and ensure they have enough quality depth to get through the year.
Vitello believes one such arm could be Caleb Kilian, who came into camp as a non-roster invitee and earned a spot on the Opening Day roster after logging a 0.96 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 9 1/3 innings in eight Cactus League games. The 28-year-old right-hander continued to flash promising stuff in his Giants debut on Wednesday, topping out at 98.8 mph while working a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth.
“I think the spot that Caleb Kilian earned to start the season with us is real,” Vitello said. “I thought he had the most positive inning of the night for us on the mound.”