San Francisco Giants

At the beginning of this season, the expectation would have been that Camilo Doval would be the Giants’ closer; however, Doval was dealt to the New York Yankees at the deadline. The hope was that breakout reliever Randy Rodríguez would assume the closer role, but he will miss all of next season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

To add to the snowball effect, Ryan Walker was among the best relievers in 2024, but he took a step back in 2025. In 68 appearances, Walker pitched to a 4.11 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, with 60 strikeouts across 61.1 innings. 

With Tyler Rogers being dealt at the deadline, there are few high-leverage options in San Francisco. There is a good reason to believe that Walker can bounce back, but why not add someone of Suarez’s caliber?

This way, Walker can slide back into his fireman role where he excelled, and Suarez can nail down the ninth. The Giants are close to competing, and this feels like the kind of move Buster Posey would make, given his brief track record as general manager.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks, despite being tied second in blown leads (45) and first in blown leads in the ninth (8), missed the playoffs by two games. Cut even half of those ninth-inning blown leads, and they very well are playing baseball in October. 

Outside of Justin Martinez, there isn’t much firepower in the bullpen. A.J. Puk missed significant time, Jalen Beeks was fine, and Kevin Ginkel’s season ended early with a shoulder injury.Â