SF Giants seemingly having pitcher transition to new role with Sacramento

Spencer Bivens has made his last five appearances out of the starting rotation for the Sacramento River Cats. That is seemingly a sign that the SF Giants are considering a new role for the 31-year-old pitcher.

Sacramento has several alternatives currently. This includes Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour, John Michael Bertrand, Blade Tidwell, and Seth Lonsway. It is not as if they are short on starters and need a pitcher to cover innings out of the rotation.

Bivens spent the past two seasons primarily working out of the Giants' bullpen. He did a nice job, often covering multiple innings in low-leverage situations. Those innings still need to be covered, and he did a nice job at preserving the deficit while throwing a lot of strikes. For a long man out of the bullpen, that is about all you can expect.

There were times when Bivens was used in leverage spots out of necessity, but the results were mixed. He does not have the overpowering stuff for that type of role, but he can get major league hitters out. Overall, he pitched to a 4.00 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, 6.8 K/9, and a 2.44 SO/W rate across 81 innings. For the role he was in, that is perfectly fine, and the fact that he soaked up so many innings probably gets overlooked in a bullpen that was completely taxed by the end of last season.

SF Giants a trying a new role with pitcher in Sacramento

In a bit of a surprise, Bivens did not make the club out of camp despite putting together a solid spring. He began this season in the bullpen, but has shifted to the rotation over the past five starts. In the past three outings, Bivens has thrown at least four innings and gotten his pitch count up to 78. He has a 2.08 ERA with 11 strikeouts and four walks across 13 innings during that time.

Overall, Bivens has a 5.04 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 5.64 FIP, 7.4 K/9, and a 2.27 SO/W rate across 30.1 innings in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) this year. Those numbers do not jump off the page, but the leaguewide ERA in the PCL is 5.44, so Bivens' 5.04 ERA is a bit below that.

Bivens does not overpower with velocity. His sinker velocity averages 93.5 MPH, but he throws strikes with all of his pitches. Aside from his sinker, he throws a sweeper, cutter, and changeup. The sweeper is his go-to secondary, whereas the cutter and changeup continue to be hit hard. The sinker-sweeper mix can work out of the bullpen, but as a starter, he will need a more reliable third option. This is an interesting assignment for someone on the 40-man roster.

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