Why Camilo Doval is feeling back at ‘home’ with return to SF Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — No one on the Giants’ 40-man roster is currently wearing No. 75, the number that Camilo Doval wore during his first stint in San Francisco. Theoretically, the number could’ve been his when the Giants claimed him off waivers on Thursday. But when Doval arrived in the Giants’ clubhouse, a new number awaited him: 57, the inverse of 75.

“They gave me that number for good luck,” Doval said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros.

Or, perhaps, a clean slate.

Doval, traded to the Yankees a little over a year ago, is back with the Giants after being designated for assignment by the Pirates. Since learning the news, he hasn’t stopped smiling.

“I’ve been smiling ever since my agent called me,” Doval said. “He said, ‘Hey, guess what? You’re going back home.’ That’s the best news I ever got. I’ve been smiling ever since. My entire family is also happy for me.”

For Doval, San Francisco isn’t just home. If it were up to Doval, he would remain a Giant for the rest of his career.

“This is where I want to be, and this is where I want to go back to the Camilo that it was before,” Doval said.

The 29-year-old hasn’t looked like the Doval of old in quite some time. Doval was ineffective with the Yankees, posting a 4.63 ERA (4.44 FIP) over 66 appearances in New York before being dealt to Pittsburgh ahead of this year’s trade deadline. He was better as a Pirate and had a 3.79 ERA (3.73 FIP) over 20 appearances.

“A little bit different,” Doval said of his time in New York and Pittsburgh. “Not the same as being home, but it’s the same thing: Just trying to do my job and trying to go ahead and pitch.”

“He keeps calling this his home,” said manager Tony Vitello. “It’s about a match. Everybody’s different. Every organization is different, but I think leaving here and then coming back, he realized how much he enjoyed it and how much the organization was doing for him.”

Doval, who hasn’t pitched since last Saturday, won’t be available on Friday but will be available the rest of the weekend. Depending on what the Giants decide, Doval’s reunion in San Francisco could amount to just this three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The former All-Star is entering his final year of arbitration after $6.1 million this year. While the Giants need to improve their bullpen, San Francisco’s brass might deem Doval too expensive given how he’s trending.

Along with a 4.23 ERA and 3.82 FIP over the last three seasons, Doval’s stuff took a significant step back this season. Doval still has excellent velocity and a nasty slider, but his 101 Stuff+ (a metric that looks at a pitch’s physical characteristics) is a career low. Regardless of what the Giants decide, Doval was worth a two-game flier to see what’s in the tank.

“It’s as whippy as it gets,” Vitello said. “Velocity and stuff is not everything, for sure, but it buys you room for error. The more you have of all that, you’ve got a lot more room for error. And he’s got a lot of it. I haven’t been around him, but there seems to be a simplicity there that I’ve enjoyed with some of our other guys as of late. Like, ‘I got the ball in my hand, I have the advantage, I’m coming at you, see what you can do.’”

The Giants’ clubhouse and dugout look a lot different since Doval last played for San Francisco. Logan Webb and Willy Adames are familiar faces, but San Francisco’s roster is filled with rookies and journeymen. Doval could be the 71st different player to suit up for the Giants when he takes the mound, which would tie the 2025 Atlanta Braves for the most ever used in a season.

To Doval, that didn’t change the feeling of returning home.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of different faces,” Doval said. “Still, you come over here and you still feel at home.”

Worth noting

Rookie left-hander César Perdomo, who won’t pitch for the rest of this year, was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to make room for Doval.