Giants Turn to Set Bullpen Roles as Caleb Kilian Takes Control of Ninth Inning

The messiness of the San Francisco Giants bullpen may not end soon. But there will be a closer.

It’s Caleb Kilian — for now, according to manager Tony Vitello. He conveyed that to reporters covering the team, including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic.

The move is a direct result of the Giants trying to move to a bullpen with more defined roles, which wasn’t the case when the season started. It also coincides with the return of Ryan Walker, who was supposed to be the closer to start the season but was optioned in May with control issues.

Kilian being named the closer on Friday was somewhat ironic in that it came in the first game of a three-game series against his former team, the Chicago Cubs.

Caleb Kilian As Closer

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Caleb Kilian throws the baseball to a hitter. — San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Caleb Kilian. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

When Walker ended up being optioned, the Giants were left without a reliever with significant closer experience. Seven different San Francisco relievers have at least one save this season. But Kilian has more than any of them with four saves in five chances.

He didn’t take his first save opportunity until May 4 against the San Diego Padres. He converted that one, along with his next two chances before he blew is only save chance to this point on May 29 against Colorado. He converted his last save on June 4 against Milwaukee. Those saves were the first four of Kilian’s Major League career, which started in 2022 with the Cubs.

The 29-year-old right-hander’s career is one of those full-circle kind of moments. He was the Giants’ eighth-round pick in 2019 out of Texas Tech and played in the minor league system until the 2021 MLB trade deadline when he was shipped to the Cubs, along with outfielder Alexander Canario, for slugger Kris Bryant.

He got to the Majors with the Cubs, but he never stuck. In three tries from 2022-24 he went 0-4 with a 9.22 ERA in eight games, with five starts. He struck out 21 and walked 20 in 27.1 innings. Kilian spent all of 2025 in the minors, as he missed considerable time due to injury, and then elected free agency after the season. The Giants signed him to a minor league deal, and he made the opening day roster.

In his return to the organization, he’s put together his best season, as he was 2-1 with a 3.3 ERA going into the Cubs series. He pitched in 28 games and struck out 32 and walked 15 in 29.2 innings. He also had three holds before he became the closer. While the rest of the roles in the bullpen are in a bit of flux, at least Kilian has the ninth.

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