The San Francisco Giants’ bullpen received more difficult news on Wednesday, March 4, as a pair of relievers have gone down with significant injuries, with the team less than three weeks from an Opening Day matchup against the New York Yankees.
Right-hander Joel Peguero re-injured his hamstring and has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain, reports Maria Guardado of MLB.com. The issue first popped up for the 28-year-old at the beginning of Spring Training. He had nearly worked himself back to game action, but experienced a setback.
Left-hander Reiver Sanmartin injured his hip in an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was slated to pitch for Team Colombia in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The injury will likely force him out of the tournament, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Peguero and Sanmartin join a growing list of injured relievers in the Giants‘ bullpen. Lefty Erik Miller has been sidelined with lower back tightness. Fellow southpaw Sam Hentges is recovering from knee surgery. Jason Foley is working his way back from a shoulder procedure. Randy Rodriguez and Rowan Wick are expected to miss the 2026 season due to Tommy John surgery.
San Francisco Giants’ Bullpen Loses Joel Peguero, Reiver Sanmartin, As Injuries Stack Up
Joel Peguero was phenomenal in his first taste of big league action in 2025. The hard-throwing righty posted a 2.42 ERA across 17 games out of the Giants’ bullpen. His 100-mph fastball didn’t lead to a gaudy strikeout rate, but he racked up ground balls at a healthy 53.5% clip. Peguero was on track to at least earn a middle relief gig. He could’ve potentially challenged for the closer job, given his arsenal and the uncertain nature of the back end of the Giants’ bullpen.
Sanmartin has spent parts of four big-league seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. He scuffled to a 5.66 ERA in 62 appearances with the club from 2021 through 2025. Sanmartin’s longest look in the majors came in 2022, when he covered 57 innings for the Reds, including four starts. He led with a changeup, tossing the pitch 32.1% of the time. It notched a solid 34.2% whiff rate, but batters hit .351 against the offering. The Giants scooped up Sanmartin off waivers in November.
Given his weak track record, Sanmartin was a long shot to make the roster, but the plethora of lefty injuries increased the likelihood he’d break camp with the team. With Miller and Hentges both down, Matt Gage was the only remaining southpaw with any big-league experience.
Who Will Fill Out the Giants’ Bullpen?
San Francisco’s relief corps was gutted last season. The club dealt submariner Tyler Rogers to the New York Mets and flipped Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees. Rodriguez jumped into the closer role, but soon went down with an arm injury that led to surgery. The only holdovers from the high-leverage group are Miller, who’s hurt, and Ryan Walker, who lost the closer gig last year.
The Giants’ additions this offseason have focused on players who won’t contribute right away. Foley and Wick are a long way from pitching. Michael Fulmer hasn’t shown big-league caliber stuff recently. The one free agent signing to watch is Brent Honeywell, the former Dodger who won a ring in 2024. He gave Los Angeles 34.1 innings of a 2.62 ERA that year.
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