The San Francisco Giants took a minuscule step forward in 2024 from where they stood in 2023; they improved their overall record by one win while moving three games closer in the National League West standings, though they still finished in fourth.
There are many glaring issues on the roster, and most have not been addressed this offseason, with the club still needing a first baseman and really any improvement to their offensive production so the load is not carried by only Matt Chapman, Willy Adames and Tyler Fitzgerald.
One player who suffered a fall from grace in 2024, however, could see those struggles left in the past is star reliever Camilo Doval.
Doval entered 2024 as the club’s closer after a stellar three-year start to his Major League career that saw the righty pitch to a 2.77 ERA across 162 1/3 innings in 166 games with 69 saves, 204 strikeouts and a 147 ERA+.
His role quickly changed as he struggled to retain that top form in 2024, and finished the year with a 4.88 ERA across 59 innings in 62 games with 23 saves, 78 strikeouts and a 79 ERA+.
A recent article from Sean Keane of SB Nation points out that the Giants have not given up completely on Doval after coming to terms on a contract for 2025 to avoid arbitration.
“The Giants don’t think Doval is unsalvageable,” writes Keane, “or at least they think his incredible slider is worth a $4.525M deal for 2025.”
When diving into Doval’s underlying metrics, the story becomes much clearer; the lack of defensive ability in the infield played a major role in the reliever’s struggles.
Doval’s slider, cutter, and sinker combination led to a ton of groundballs and resulted in a career-high 60.5 percent groundball rate in 2024. The Major League average since 2021 is 44.4 percent.
While Chapman is an elite defender at third base, Fitzgerald spent the majority of his time on the field at shortstop and generated -4 Outs Above Average per Baseball Savant. LaMonte Wade Jr. served as the primary first baseman, a position where he generated -3 Outs Above Average.
The defense playing a role in Doval’s struggles is even evidenced in his surface-level metrics like FIP, which landed at 3.71, more than a full run lower than his ERA for the year.
While Doval may not start the year as San Francisco’s closer after losing the role in 2024, he may be eased back into it if the improved infield defense does help turn things around.
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