Giants closer Camilo Doval sent to minor leagues

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants optioned closer and former All-Star Camilo Doval to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.

The right-hander has struggled to find the form that made him an All-Star in 2023 in 46 appearances for San Francisco this season and has a career-worst 4.70 ERA.

“When you’re a guy like him, you don’t expect to hear that, so he’s processing it right now and hopefully he takes it the right way and gets back here and does the role that he’s done in the past very successfully,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said.

The team hasn’t named a new closer.

“It’ll be the guy we feel like has the best opportunity to do it without throwing everything else into disarray,” Melvin said.

Doval (4-1, 22 saves) has had an uncharacteristically mistake-laden year. He pitched more than 60 innings with a sub-3.00 ERA and more than 25 saves in each of the last two seasons. He led the National League with 39 saves last season. This year, despite 22 saves in 27 chances, Doval has allowed 42 hits and 25 runs — 23 of them earned — while striking out 56.

The move came a day after Doval gave up a tying three-run homer in the ninth inning against the Nationals, a game the Giants won in the 10th.

Doval’s control of his fastball has been largely absent. He has walked 29 this season, compared to only 26 in all of 2023 and 30 in 2022.

Doval has also struggled to locate his slider and his breaking ball has shifted, resulting in an inability to consistently find the strike zone. The Giants cannot afford the inconsistency when only two games out of a National League wild-card spot.

“Could we have put him in a lesser role? I don’t know that it would help. I think that some of the issues that he needs to work on would be easier to do somewhere else than the big leagues,” Melvin said. “He’s an All-Star. We expect him to come back and be an All-Star.”

San Francisco promoted right-hander Landen Roupp to their 40-man roster to fill Doval’s spot.