Sam Dyson

The San Francisco Giants agreed to terms with all five of their arbitration-eligible players on Friday afternoon, meaning each player on the team’s 40-man roster now has a set salary for the 2018 season.

The Giants signed Mark Melancon to a four-year, $62 million last offseason to serve as the team’s closer. And on Tuesday afternoon, Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy declared that Melancon is ready to close ballgames.

The Giants are out of contention in 2017. However, a strong back-end of the bullpen is coming together that could help turnaround what many hope to be is a bounce-back season in 2018.

On Saturday morning, Sacramento River Cats season ticket holders discovered that the upcoming week could be one of the most fruitful in recent memory, as Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy announced that closer Mark Melancon is prepared to begin a rehab assignment on Sunday in Sacramento.

While Bobby Evans had a full winter to scour the market for relief pitchers, two players the Giants ended up adding to their 25-man roster during the 2017 season have provided immense help to a bullpen that ranks 15th in the Major Leagues with a 4.07 earned run average.

Mike Krukow joined The Murph and Mac Show on KNBR Monday where he connected Matt Moore’s first half struggles to Sam Dyson’s previous command clashes.

Though San Francisco won’t part with building blocks like Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner and Brandon Crawford, the Giants could part with a number of different assets that interest contending teams, and that includes 28-year-old reliever Hunter Strickland.

With the bases loaded and the game on the line in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday evening, the Giants were staring down a situation they’ve faced far too often over the past two seasons.

Last offseason, the San Francisco Giants set out to make the ninth inning boring. Over the past decade, Giants’ closers like Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla all enjoyed various stretches of dominance in their role, but for the most part, late-inning situations have been an adventure for San Francisco.

When the Texas Rangers designated reliever Sam Dyson for assignment in late May, a small handful of clubs looking to stock their bullpens for a run at the postseason reportedly expressed interest. That’s why it came as a surprise when Dyson landed with the San Francisco Giants, a team that already dropped off the playoff radar in the National League and a team that spent $62 million on a closer this offseason.