Back in 2021, the SF Giants were in the middle of a magical season and swung a big trade with the Chicago Cubs to bring in former MVP Kris Bryant. One of the players dealt in that trade, right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian, is now back with the Giants and he may just help San Francisco declare victory in that trade.
Kilian was once a highly-touted prospect in San Francisco’s organization. The Cubs clearly thought highly of him but he never materialized into anything special in Chicago. In eight appearances over the course of three seasons, he sported a 9.22 ERA.
Giants can declare victory in Kris Bryant trade thanks to Caleb Kilian
The 28-year-old is finally looking like he may live up to his promise. Since early in spring training, Kilian was impressive for the Giants. That has not changed and now there is a very real chance that he could earn himself a spot in San Francisco’s bullpen on the Opening Night roster.
In eight Cactus League appearances with the Giants, Kilian allowed just one run and struck out eleven batters while only walking two and allowing six hits. He has looked like a guy who belongs in the bullpen but it is far from a sure thing.
Kilian is not on the 40-man roster so the Giants would have to remove someone from the 40-man, or place someone on the IL, in order to make room for him.
Yet, he has clearly earned a spot based on the way he has pitched so far. The MLB track record gives one pause, but maybe he has found something that has made everything click.
If he did make the team and turned himself into a solid big league pitcher with the Giants, it would really be a full circle moment. He was drafted by San Francisco back in 2019 and after a circuitous path, he’d finally be a contributor for the team.
It would also definitively prove the Giants won the Kris Bryant trade. Alexander Canario, the other prospect included in that trade, already flamed out with the Cubs so neither player panned out in Chicago.
Kilian returning to the Giants and establishing himself as a solid pitcher would just rub some extra salt in the wound.
Still, one could make the case that both the Giants and Cubs won the Bryant trade because neither team ended up signing him to the contract that the Colorado Rockies did. That deal looks worse and worse by the day as Bryant just cannot get healthy and stay on the field.
More important than winning a trade from five years ago, Kilian could end up being a key piece of San Francisco’s bullpen this season which would be huge given how much uncertainty there is with the team’s relievers.
