SF Giants demote young pitcher yet again after masterful performance

The SF Giants got another great outing from rookie Hayden Birdsong in last night's contest against the Rockies. To reward his efforts, the Giants demoted him to the minor leagues yet again although he may not be there for long.

SF Giants demote young pitcher yet again after masterful performance

Birdsong has turned in two consecutive great starts against the Rockies. On July 21st he went 6 innings and gave up 2 earned runs while recording 12 strikeouts against the Rockies in Coors Field. We know how Coors Field is a hitter's paradise so it was impressive to see the rookie fare so well.

He followed up that performance with another great start last night. He went 5 innings and recorded 8 strikeouts while not allowing a single run. Plus, manager Bob Melvin showed a lot of trust in Birdsong by letting him finish the 5th inning even though his pitch count was high.

Sure, both of these great starts came against the lowly Rockies. But Birdsong has looked really good against other teams as well. He had respectable starts against three playoff teams in the Braves, Twins, and Guardians where he gave up 2 runs in each of them but kept the Giants in the game.

There was definitely frustration among fans when Birdsong got demoted after his great start on the 21st. That move was made so the Giants could add reliever Mike Baumann in a move that puzzled fans as well.

To give the front office the benefit of the doubt, it seems like they wanted Baumann as an extra arm who could give them some innings to try to preserve some of their other arms in anticipation of Saturday's double header. He only recorded two outs for the Giants before being designated for assignment so that is not exactly how things worked out.

What may be even more puzzling to fans is that Birdsong was demoted again after last night's performance. Per the team's transaction log, Birdsong was optioned to the San Jose Giants.

If you are confused by the move, our friends at McCovey Chronicles explained on X that Birdsong had to be optioned because he was the extra man on the roster for a double header. Per MLB rules, Birdsong had to be optioned after the game but he should be eligible to return by his next start.

It is a weird quirk of the rules that may not make sense to fans, but at least it ensures that Birdsong will remain in the rotation. It must be sort of weird for him to have this yo-yo experience where he pitches well and then gets optioned even if it is just due to roster quirks.

However, Birdsong may be sent down again once Alex Cobb returns from injury. If Birdsong keeps pitching this well it will be very tough to take him out of the rotation even if Cobb is a veteran. It is early, but the 22 year old Birdsong looks like he could be a fixture of the rotation going forward.