San Francisco Giants: If Brian Wilson Is Out, Who Closes for the Team?

Update: Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy confirmed on Tuesday that Wilson will start the year on the DL. It is possible Wilson could return during the Giants’ second series of the season against the San Diego Padres.

Look for Romo to get the first crack at saves for the defending champions.

Original Post, 3/25/11: The San Francisco Giants got some disappointing news regarding closer Brian Wilson. Wilson, who is dealing with an oblique injury, didn’t feel as good as he thought he would after playing catching on Wednesday according to manager Bruce Bochy.

With Opening Day exactly one week away, it’s looking more and more likely Wilson will be starting the season on the disabled list. Reports are that it’s 50/50 right now. While it’s not expected that Wilson would miss more than a week of the regular season, the Giants are going to need someone to fill his shoes.

The two most likely candidates for that position are Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla.

Romo compiled a 2.18 ERA, .097 WHIP and averaged 10.2 K/9 in 62 innings. Casilla had an equally impressive 1.95 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and averaged 9.1 K/9 in 55.1 innings.

Since Casilla has the propensity to walk a batter or two in an inning (4.4/9 for his career), I would say that if Wilson isn’t ready to go by Opening Day, Romo would get the first crack at saves for the Giants.

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