2015 Giants first-rounder's odyssey continues after being dropped by 8th organization

Back in 2015, the SF Giants selected right-handed pitcher Phil Bickford with their first-round pick in the MLB Draft. Since then, an odyssey has ensued as he was just let go by yet another team.

The Detroit Tigers decided to let go of Bickford after signing him to a minor league contract in the offseason. Bickford received an invite to spring training but he was not healthy enough to pitch so he did not get an opportunity to compete for a job. 

Phil Bickford's long odyssey continues after Tigers release

Now he is back on the open market but with his health status unclear it may take some times for him to land with a new team. Bickford has already been with eight different MLB organizations so he is slowly but surely making his way through the entire league. 

Bickford made his MLB debut back in 2020 with the Milwaukee Brewers. His best big league season came back in 2021 with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he had a 2.50 ERA in 56 appearances.

It’s been a bit more trying for the California native since then. 2022 and 2023 were tougher years for him in LA and he ended up with the New York Mets in 2023 and briefly joined the New York Yankees and pitched in eight games for them in 2024. He had an 8.64 ERA in eight appearances that season and that was the last time he has pitched in the big leagues.

Last season he pitched in Triple-A for both the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs and had a 3.52 ERA on the season but never earned a call-up.

He clearly can still pitch and teams are willing to take a chance on him, so once he heals up maybe a team will give him another chance with a minor-league contract.

Our own Jeff Young noted that in a weird bit of coincidence, Bickford was released on the same day that Daniel Susac got his first big-league start with the Giants. Back in 2016, the Giants traded Bickford and catcher Andrew Susac, Daniel’s older brother, to the Brewers in exchange for reliever Will Smith.

Baseball is a weird game isn’t it?

A reunion with the Giants can’t be ruled out for Bickford. The team could always use more pitching depth and with how good Caleb Kilian looks right now, why not strike while the iron is hot and try to bring back yet another former draft pick who was traded away?