SF Giants news: Rotation shakeup, Devers on a heater, trade deadline approaching

After a brutal start to the second half, the SF Giants bounced back with two huge wins against the Atlanta Braves. Let's take a look at some recent news bits from the team before they begin their home stand against the New York Mets tonight.

SF Giants news: Rotation shakeup, Devers on a heater, trade deadline approaching

Rotation shakeup

After Hayden Birdsong's nightmare start against Atlanta on Monday, the Giants shook up their rotation by demoting him to Triple-A. The Giants also demoted Tristan Beck while calling up both Carson Seymour and Sean Hjelle to give them some fresher arms in the bullpen.

Birdsong had been in the rotation for the last few months after he replaced the struggling Jordan Hicks in the rotation. Birdsong looked very strong in the bullpen earlier this year, but that success just did not translate to being a starter.

Now, the Giants have to figure out what to do for when Birdsong's usual turn in the rotation comes. The Giants may have to reprise a disliked strategy that was utilized a lot under Farhan Zaidi but may be their best bet at this point.

Devers on fire

Finally, Rafael Devers is showing Giants fans what he can do. He blasted two home runs on Wednesday in Atlanta and already has ten hits in six games played in the second half. This is the Devers fans were anticipating when he came over from Boston so it is nice to see him delivering on that promise early in the second half.

He also just started his first career game at first base and looked solid so the Giants now have a bit more flexibility defensively and in their lineup thanks to Devers taking on this new role.

Trade deadline approaching

The July 31st trade deadline is coming up fast and the Giants have some decisions to make. There are several key areas of their roster they can look to improve upon, starting pitching being the obvious one but they have also been seen as a good fit for big bats.

They could also decide to stand pat, but president of baseball operations Buster Posey has shown us both with his words and his actions that he is not afraid to be aggressive to improve the team.

The Giants begin the first of six straight games at home tonight against the Mets, and these next six games could help determine what the front office's strategy will be ahead of the trade deadline.

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