SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Buster Posey’s words didn’t go unnoticed by Camilo Doval. At the winter meetings in December, the Giants’ president of baseball operations gave Doval a vote of confidence and anticipated a resurgence in 2025.
Amid trade rumors involving Doval, Posey said he was “bullish” about keeping him, called him a possible “lockdown piece,” and reaffirmed he had faith in the 27-year-old.
The feeling is clearly mutual. “He played with me. He caught me,” Doval said of Posey on Thursday, speaking through an interpreter at his Scottsdale Stadium locker. “I trusted whatever he asked me to throw, and if in some situations I didn’t want to throw what he was asking for, he trusted me if I wanted to change it. If anybody knows my talent, if anybody knows what I’m capable of doing, he knows it firsthand.”
Posey’s final year as a big-league player was Doval’s first, 2021, the magical 107-win season, and the high-velocity reliever broke in with a bang — 37 strikeouts in 27 innings. Within two years, he was an All-Star closer and the National League leader in saves.
Exemplifying how life as a reliever can be unstable and erratic, Doval last season posted the highest walks-per-nine-inning ratio (5.95) in the majors among pitchers with at least 50 innings, lost his closer’s role in August, and got demoted to Triple-A Sacramento.
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He says now “it was frustrating,” and “I would lean my head and be down on myself.” But by all accounts, he embraced the challenge, maintained the right attitude, and made the best of it, reporting to the River Cats a day after the demotion even though they were in Albuquerque, even though optioned players have 72 hours to report.
Doval finished the season in San Francisco and had the winter to contemplate his future in the organization and focus on rebounding to his 2023 form.
“You know what? You have to restart yourself,” Doval said. “I’m a man of faith, so I believe that maybe this was a lesson from God. He gave me a down year. Well, guess what? It’s a learning process now. I have to step up again and learn from that.”
Manager Bob Melvin made no secret over the winter that Ryan Walker was his closer, which wasn’t at all a surprise based on how the sidewinder posted a 1.91 ERA in 76 appearances, 0.92 after he stepped into the closer’s role following Doval’s demotion.
Where did that leave Doval? Melvin said the bullpen roles would be ironed out by the end of camp but strongly hinted Thursday that Tyler Rogers would serve as the primary setup man and work the eighth inning. With Erik Miller filling the late-inning lefty role, that would leave Doval as the seventh-inning guy.
Asked about his role Thursday, Doval said all the right things.
“I’m comfortable in any position,” he said. “My main goal has always been to give 100 percent and do what the manager asks me to do. So it doesn’t matter where I pitch as long as I help the team.”
Doval is trying to become more of a strike-thrower again, and his commitment to filling up the strike zone is nicely playing out in spring training. In six outings, each lasting an inning, he has surrendered one run and two hits. Most important, he has walked only one batter.
“Camilo’s in a great space right now and is pitching really well, too,” Melvin said. “When we sent him down last year, it was quite the surprise for him, but he handled it beautifully. He did everything we asked him to do. He knows it’s about throwing strikes and limiting walks. That’s a talking point with everybody in this camp.”
In another effort to return to 2023 form, Doval is changing his entrance song — going back to “El Hijo Desobediente” by Antonio Aguilar, his go-to early in his big-league career. The Giants have wanted to spice up his walk-in music and tried other songs, even a remix of “Tequila.” The choice early last season was “Bailar” (DJ Deorro), and eventually Doval brought in “Bandoleros” (Don Omar).
During the summer, the Giants made a huge production out of Doval entrances by adding spotlights, flashing LEDs, and many new speakers — a big-time light show, commonplace in other parks. Problem was, Doval wasn’t pitching up to par, so the experience didn’t often come with a happy ending.
Thus, the change back to “El Hijo Desobediente,” which he dusted off after returning from the minors late last season and plans to use in 2025. “Because I want to be the 2023 version,” he said with a smile.
Doval knows the focus is on throwing strikes more than picking tunes and isn’t as concerned about the music selections as people might think. Good or bad, he mostly has remained laid-back and calm, never hurrying, always moving at his own pace. Tranquilo Camilo, if you will.
Though he does move a tad quicker in this pitch clock era.
“Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been like this,” said Doval, who was raised in Los Angelitos, Dominican Republic, which is close to Yamasá, a rural agricultural community. He was born in a bus on a road to a hospital; therefore, he was named Camilo because it sounds like the Spanish word for street, camino.
Doval’s temperament and personality seemingly haven’t changed, and he still has his three-pitch mix (cutter, sinker, slider). Now it’s about consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness as he slides into whichever role awaits.