Feel-good SF Giants story from 2024 may be odd man out in bullpen

The SF Giants still have several roster battles to resolve before the end of spring training. One battle will be over the final spots in the bullpen which could mean that Spencer Bivens, one of the team's best stories from 2024, may be the odd man out.

As of right now, there are probably five pitchers who can safely be assumed to have a spot in the team's bullpen on Opening Day: Ryan Walker, Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval, Erik Miller, and Sean Hjelle. That means there are probably only three more spots available in the bullpen.

Spencer Bivens could be the odd man out in SF Giants bullpen

The team probably wants to carry at least one long reliever which could end up being Landen Roupp if he is not the fifth starter in the rotation or someone like Tristan Beck. There are other relievers in contention for more middle relief roles like Randy Rodriguez and Lou Trivino, who has made a strong case for the Opening Day roster and has connections with manager Bob Melvin dating back to his time in Oakland.

There is also the question of whether Melvin wants to carry two left-handed relievers in the bullpen. Miller figures to be the lefty used in high leverage spots, but perhaps someone like veteran Joey Lucchesi or Enny Romero, the only two left-handed relievers still in camp besides Miller, could be a low-leverage lefty option.

Let's say for the sake of argument that Melvin opts to have Roupp as his long reliever and Lucchesi as his low-leverage lefty. That means that Bivens would be in a competition with Trivino and Rodriguez for that final bullpen spot. All three have looked good in spring training and both Bivens and Rodriguez pitched well last season, but Melvin's history with Trivino could give him a slight edge.

If Bivens does end up being the odd man out, it would be a shame considering he was one of the best stories on the Giants in 2024. He took a circuitous route to finally pitch in the big leagues and was great for San Francisco, pitching in 27 games with a 3.14 ERA in 48 and 2/3 innings. He also had a phenomenal start against the Los Angeles Dodgers when the rotation was depleted, pitching for five innings and ending his day by striking out Shohei Ohtani which prompted an awesome reaction that rubbed one Dodgers writer the wrong way.

There is definitely still a chance that Bivens will be on the Opening Day roster. However, he does have two minor league options remaining which could mean that the Giants opt in favor of Trivino, a non-roster invite who they would likely lose if they did not have him on the Opening Day roster.

It seems highly likely that we will see Bivens with the Giants at some point this season no matter what, but he may be the odd man out initially when the Giants head to Cincinnati for Opening Day.