SF Giants may have to bring back dreaded Farhan Zaidi practice due to rotation woes

The SF Giants demoted Hayden Birdsong after his disastrous start on Monday against the Atlanta Braves. He leaves a hole in the starting rotation that may end up being filled by employing a reviled strategy under Farhan Zaidi: the opener.

The Giants employed the "opener" strategy quite a bit during Zaidi's tenure as president of baseball operations. This strategy involves having a relief pitcher pitch the first inning of a game before handing things off to the rest of the bullpen, usually with a long reliever coming in second.

SF Giants may have to employ opener strategy due to rotation woes

The strategy proved to be successful at times for the Giants, but the major gripe with it was that it created an unappealing brand of baseball that fans did not love. Many preferred the traditional five-man starting rotation which is why the Giants changed course in 2024.

Despite this, the opener strategy was part of why the Giants moved on from Zaidi to try and restore the traditional Giants brand of baseball with Buster Posey at the helm.

With Birdsong and Tristan Beck being demoted to the minors in favor of Carson Seymour and Sean Hjelle, the Giants will have to figure out what to do the next time Birdsong's spot in the rotation comes around. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area noted on social media that the opener strategy is a possibility.

Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle noted on social media that even though Seymour and Hjelle have fresh arms, neither is just going to be plugged into the rotation. She quotes manager Bob Melvin as saying, "We'll figure that out when we get there," in reference to Birdsong's next turn through the rotation.

It is going to be interesting to see how the Giants manage this situation. Ryan Walker used to open games a lot back in 2023 when the strategy was employed regularly so he has experience doing it. Or maybe the Giants will try to get three innings each out of Hjelle and Seymour.

Do not expect this strategy to be employed the rest of the year, though. It would most likely be a short-term solution while the Giants look to improve their starting pitching via trade.

If the Giants do turn to the opener strategy, some fans will certainly be upset. Yet, it seems like the strategy that makes the most sense right now so somewhere deep within the bowels of the Dodgers' front office Farhan Zaidi will be smiling knowing that an opener may very well be used by his former employer.

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