SAN FRANCISCO -- Camilo Doval is back.
The Giants announced Thursday that they’ve claimed Doval off waivers from the Pirates, bringing the former All-Star closer back to the organization for the first time since he was dealt to the Yankees at the 2025 Trade Deadline.
The homecoming was an unexpected surprise for Doval, who said he was thrilled to have another chance to don the orange and black. The Giants issued him No. 57 when he reported to San Francisco on Friday, the inverse of the No. 75 he wore during his first stint with the club.
"I can’t believe that I’m here, but here we are,” Doval said in Spanish before Friday night’s 2-0 loss to the Dodgers. “This is the best news I’ve gotten all year. My agent called me and said, ‘Guess what? You’re going back home.’ I said, ‘No way.’ Ever since then, I haven’t stopped smiling. My family is super happy."
The Giants cleared roster spots for Doval by transferring right-hander Blade Tidwell (Tommy John surgery) to the 60-day injured list and optioning left-hander Cesar Perdomo to Triple-A Sacramento.
Doval, 29, debuted with the Giants in 2021 and spent his first five Major League seasons in San Francisco, where he earned his first career All-Star nod after logging a 2.93 ERA with a National League-high 39 saves in 2023.
Still, the hard-throwing right-hander regressed over the next two years, prompting the Giants to trade him to the Yankees in exchange for prospects Jesus Rodriguez, Parks Harber, Trystan Vrieling and Carlos De La Rosa last summer.
Doval opened the 2026 campaign with the Yankees, but he posted a 4.54 ERA over 44 outings before being flipped to the Pirates on Aug. 1. Doval’s stint in Pittsburgh proved brief, as he was designated for assignment earlier this week after recording a 3.79 ERA with 14 walks across 19 innings in 20 outings for the Pirates.
"I was just trying to do my job, like always,” Doval said of his time with the Yankees and Pirates. “It felt a little different. It wasn’t the same as being home.”
Doval remains under club control through 2027, but he’s making $6.1 million this year and will be eligible for arbitration again this offseason.
The Giants will have to decide whether to tender Doval a contract later this winter, but they’ve lacked stability at the back end of their bullpen of late, so it could make sense to keep him in their relief mix heading into '27. Entering Friday, San Francisco’s bullpen ranked 19th in the Majors with a 4.18 ERA this season and doesn’t have a ton of experienced options outside of left-hander Sam Hentges and right-hander Jason Foley.
Doval made it clear that his preference would be to stay with the Giants.
“I hope to be here for a long time,” Doval said. “I want to thank the front office for believing in me and bringing me back home. That’s something that I’m never going to forget.
“If it were up to me, I’d stay here for the rest of my career. I like being here. This is where I got my start, and I know this is where I can get back to being the All-Star that I used to be. I’m 100% sure that I can do that.”
Doval hasn’t pitched since Sept. 19 and won’t be available to throw against the Dodgers on Friday, but he said he hoped to get in a game before the end of the weekend. If he takes the mound as expected, Doval will become the 71st player to suit up for San Francisco in 2026, tying the Major League record set by the 2025 Braves.
“There’s been a lot,” manager Tony Vitello said Wednesday. “I don’t think you’re going to play a Major League season where there’s not a lot. Everybody’s story is a little bit different, but I think it’s been fair to say ours has been unique in a lot of different ways. That’s a crazy scenario. I guess, being in the first year in the organization, you’d like to meet everybody, so this is one way to do it.”