The San Francisco Giants bullpen was far from great in 2026. It was one of many issues in a year where they finished an abysmal 65-97.

Late in the year, injuries kept piling up, and the Giants were basically giving anyone a shot at either getting into the lineup or this bullpen.

One of the most unexpected moves of the year saw the Giants reunite with Camilo Doval, a 29-year-old reliever who pitched in San Francisco from 2021-25.

Doval isn't owed a major payday until the 2028 season, so it'll be extremely interesting to see how president of baseball operations Buster Posey and Co. handle things in 2027.

Seeing as Doval made $6.1 million in '26, it's not like the value of his contract is going to skyrocket after his mediocre season.

The New York Yankees moved on from him for a reason, and then he couldn't even last until the end of the year with the Pittsburgh Pirates despite being traded for a pair of prospects. 

Doval threw two scoreless innings during his time back in San Francisco. But this is a team that still hasn't made up its mind on whether or not they're going to offer in arbitration, give him an extension, or move on from Doval entirely.

Doval will turn 30 years old in the middle of the '27 season, so it's not like he's going to be aged out of the league anytime soon.

This is a guy who needs a massive rebound year if he wants to earn top-of-the-line reliever money come '28.

Doval proved his worth at the end of the year with two nearly perfect innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, though LA got swept in the National League Championship Series in pursuit of a three-peat.

That's not to say the Dodgers aren't a good team, far from it; they just weren't at the level they were in either 2024 or 2025.

Regardless, Doval struck out four batters and walked only one. That was the lone batter he faced above the minimum in those two games.

If Doval's value sits at $7 million for next season, that feels like a number the Giants should be comfortable with. 

NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic said Posey and the Giants "are still talking through a decision," so it's not like one is going to be made overnight, but keeping him around in '27, at least for the first part of the season, feels like a smart idea.