Sam Dyson

Mark Melancon and Sam Dyson combined to save 85 games last year, and if you knew nothing about this year’s Giants, you’d think management has done more than enough to solidify a woeful bullpen. But if you do happen to know anything about the way things have gone for a 26-45 team that sits 19.5 games out of first place in the middle of June, you know San Francisco’s late-inning issues are once again a serious concern.

On Friday night, the Giants ran into Minnesota Twins’ right-hander Ervin Santana. On Tuesday evening, San Francisco squared off against Kansas City Royals’ left-hander Jason Vargas. Together, the duo has 25 seasons of Major League experience under their belt, and just one All-Star Game appearance.

Sam Dyson was one of the most productive closers in baseball in 2016. On Friday, Dyson joined the Giants as their latest bullpen reclamation project.

A day after the Giants’ premier offseason acquisition, Mark Melancon, blew his third save of the season, San Francisco activated former Rangers’ reliever Sam Dyson.

Sixty games into the 2017 regular season, not much has gone according to plan for a San Francisco Giants team that finds itself 13 games out of first place, and 11 games back in the National League wild card hunt. But for as troubling of a season as the Giants have suffered through, new reliever Sam Dyson has had it worse.

The San Francisco Giants could become sellers by Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, but on Tuesday evening, the franchise entered the market as buyers. The organization added to its bullpen depth by trading for Texas Rangers’ right-hander Sam Dyson, a sixth-year veteran struggling through the worst season of his professional career.