Yes, I’m aware that Doval was with the Pirates when the Giants claimed him, but the photo tool didn’t show me any pictures of him as a Pirate even though he pitched better for them than in New York (3.79 ERA / 3.73 FIP in 19 IP). His Yankees career was… not good. A 4.82 ERA / 4.10 FIP in 18.2 innings last season and a 4.54 ERA / 4.61 FIP in 39.2 innings this year. Walks and hits continue to be a problem for him — he’s still the warts and all pitcher we and the team grew frustrated with — but he’s still got that 98+ velocity and the slider is still fantastic.
He’s under team control for 2027 in what will be his final trip through arbitration and, well, cynically, I guess the Giants will be spending money on a reliever with 9th inning experience. It’ll just be Camilo Doval… who has 107 saves as a Giant (7th all-time). And it will be for significantly less than what they’d have to spend for a closer or quasi-closer on the open market.
This is just funny. It’s also the sort of things fans wish for all the time — the trade away and then return to us move — but rarely happens. The Giants have had so much turnover even in the time he’s been gone that it’s not a given they know him well enough to “fix” him, but gosh, for a team that values nostalgia above all else, this is sort of perfect.