Which Giants Relievers Are Part of Next Year’s Bullpen Solution?

The downfalls of the 2026 San Francisco Giants have been no secret through the end of August and into September. Sure, the rotation has been underwhelming and some of the expensive contracts on the roster have underperformed, but that hasn’t been the team’s biggest issue.

Going into this past winter, the holes on the Giants roster were clear. Pitching was thin and, more specifically, the bullpen was virtually nonexistent. However, for whatever reason, Buster Posey and the front office decided to allocate very little of their offseason spending to that group.

Sure, the Giants have never been the organization to shell out massive amounts of cash to big relief options in free agency. However, the fact that they didn’t add any surefire upgrades this offseason is still bizarre.

The two big-league signings they did make in that group — Sam Hentges and Jason Foley — weren’t ready for Opening Day and haven’t exactly came back from their respective injuries smoothly.

This has led to one of the more underwhelming bullpens in baseball and it’s safe to say Bay Area fans aren’t surprised. The group’s 4.22 ERA ranks 20th in baseball while both their strikeouts and walks per nine rank towards the bottom five in the league.

Not to mention, the Giants pitching staff as a whole has a 9.46 ERA in high leverage situations. Stats like that make it less surprising that the club has 22 blown saves on the season — the seventh-worst mark in MLB.

However, despite piling on the Giants bullpen this much and question Posey and Co.’s decisions this winter, this group does have some bright spots that could be pieces for the organization moving forward.

Even if their numbers don’t look overpowering, they’ve shown enough to earn a spot in next year’s Opening Day options. Let’s break down who those guys are.

All stats updated prior to games on Thursday, September 3

Dylan Smith

The Giants acquired Dylan Smith for old friend cash considerations earlier this season and that looks to be on the savvier end of Buster Posey’s moves. Smith may not have been a highly-touted prospect with Detroit and doesn’t have the most mind-boggling stuff, but he does have the mindset of a high-leverage arm.

Several times this season, Smith has come into extremely unfavorable situations and somehow, gotten out of them. Just last week, he had bases loaded with nobody out at Fenway and went on to strike out the first two hitters and get the last to fly out, not giving up a run.

Every time he’s on the mound for San Francisco, it feels like he’s having a conversation with the hitter and saying “here’s my stuff… hit it.” That type of mentality has been missed in San Francisco for quite some time now.

So far, it’s worked out for the righty. In 34 games this year, Smith has a 3.13 ERA with 11.65 strikeouts per nine — the ninth best mark in the National League among relievers with at least 30 innings under their belt.

Even if he’s not pumping 100 mph by every hitter, it appears Smith has secured his spot on the 2027 Giants.

Keaton Winn

Keaton Winn’s numbers on the year don’t tell the entire story. He has a 3.35 ERA in 43 innings and might be done for the year thanks to some lingering arm injuries.

However, he showed enough prior to his first injury this season to already earn a role on next year’s roster. When it’s on, Winn’s splitter is one of the best stand alone pitches in the National League. On top of that, even if it hasn’t graded out necessarily well, Winn’s fastball is the hardest it’s been since he debuted a few years ago at 96.1 mph.

With the ability to reach back and touch high 90s with his fastball alongside a devastating splitter, Winn looked dominant at times in his first season as a reliever. As a mater of fact, the right-hander had a 2.40 ERA and 3.18 FIP prior to his first injury of the season in early June.

Because of the underwhelming nature of the entire group, Tony Vitello put a lot on Winn’s plate early in the year and that could be an explanation for some of the arm problems. Either way, if he comes into next season healthy, he’ll immediately be one of San Francisco’s best options out of the bullpen.

Trent Harris

Harris has been a consistent arm in San Francisco’s farm system rankings over the years but never made it towards the top simply because of the fact that his future was so clearly as a reliever. However, we’re finally seeing the righty at the big-league level and it’s been a bright spot for the orange and black in recent weeks.

Secondaries are the name of the game for Harris and those are what have led to a lot of his success at the highest level early-on. His slider holds a stuff+ rating of 103 while his curveball sits at a grade of 107.

That explains the reasoning behind the offspeed offerings making up for right around half of his total pitches thrown — it’s because they’re simply disgusting.

Now, his fastballs are nowhere near elite and are actually below average. However, he now throws both a sinker and cutter, which gives the hitter two different shapes to plan for in terms of his heater. While that has naturally helped his confidence in throwing the fastball, it’s also benefitted his secondaries.

Harris’ debut did end up being on the rougher side — giving up three earned runs. However, in the 11.2 innings that have followed, he’s only allowed two earned runs while striking out 17 hitters. Even if it took some development in the minor leagues, he’s been a fun watch in San Francisco’s bullpen of late.