Giants Reliever’s Hopes of Making Opening Day Roster Likely End After Injury

The San Francisco Giants are expected to be without a potential bullpen option with MLB experience for a while.

Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle on X (formerly Twitter), Joel Peguero reinjured his hamstring recently and has what is considered a Grade 2 strain. It is an injury significant enough to likely keep him out of the running for an opening day roster spot when the Giants host the New York Yankees on March 25 at Oracle Park.

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Peguero gained MLB experience in 2025 as he made his MLB debut, where he performed well enough to be considered a part of the franchise’s future in the bullpen.

Joel Peguero with The Giants

San Francisco Giants pitcher Joel Peguero prepares to catch a baseball. — San Francisco Giants pitcher Joel Peguero. | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

Peguero pitched in 17 games in 2025, as he finished with a 3-1 record and a 2.42 ERA. He finished four games, struck out 17 and walked eight in 22.1 innings. Entering spring training the odds were with the right-hander to gain a roster spot. Now it’s likely he’ll start the season on the 15-day injured list.

There is a recent example of how long it took one player to return from a Grade 2-type hamstring injury. Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes suffered a hamstring injury on July 19. While the Astros didn’t grade the injury publicly, it was significant enough to keep Paredes out of the lineup until Sept. 19. He was placed on the 60-day injured list, underscoring the significance of the injury.

That’s a two-month time to recover for a significant hamstring injury.

The 28-year-old Peguero was signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He started playing pro baseball in 2016 and made his way through five organizations — Tampa Bay, Colorado, Washington and Detroit. He arrived with the Giants on a minor league deal last spring and went 202 with a 5.10 ERA in 35 games with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.

The opportunity with San Francisco last season was his breakthrough after a decade of trying to get one. Now, he’ll have to wait for his next chance.

Ryan Walker is expected to be the closer. Outside of that the roles in the bullpen are not settled. The Giants have a wealth of options on the Major League 40-man roster, including Spencer Bivens, Matt Gage, Tristan Beck, José Buttó, Carson Seymour, Erik Miller, R.J. Dabovich, Trevor McDonald, Sam Hentges, JT Brubaker, Reiver Sanmartin and Jason Foley