Young SF Giants hurler to shift back into the starting rotation

The SF Giants have one of their first big changes of the season. According to Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News, Hayden Birdsong will shift into the rotation, whereas Jordan Hicks will return to the bullpen.

Young SF Giants hurler to shift back into the starting rotation

The Giants have been a patient group this season. They have not been as reactive to performance as in recent years. That said, a change was looming with Hicks' struggles out of the rotation.

The hard-throwing pitcher posted a 6.55 ERA through nine starts this year. That is nearly one-third of the season, so it is a decent sample. The underlying numbers, such as a 3.48 FIP or a 3.75 xERA, were much more promising. However, knowing how long you can continue to hang your hat on those underlying numbers is hard.

Hicks did have a .362 BABIP compared to league .289 BABIP in 2025. It is fair to say that his numbers would had benefitted if and when that number came down closer to the league average mark.

The right-handed hurler struggled in a couple of areas. Most notable, he was a far different pitcher with runners on base compared to the bases being empty. Opposing hitters posted a .701 OPS when the bases were empty, but that number spiked to a .900 OPS with runners on base. That could be due to a few factor, such as speeding through a delivery.

Secondly, Hicks became a two-pitcher pitcher in a role that often requires the use of at least three pitches. He threw his sinker or sweeper about 86 percent of the time in 2025. The splitter and four-seamer were lightly used behind that. In particular, the splitter became a nice option for him last year, but he hardly threw it this season. Hicks became too predictable. It also bears mentioning that his sweeper did not have the same horizontal movement as it has in recent years.

Moving to the bullpen has always been a logical backup plan for the 28-year-old pitcher. He has plenty of experience in that role. Despite the premium velocity, he has been more fine than good as a reliever with a 3.71 ERA in his career.

Hicks has the upside to be a leverage arm. The Giants also have one of the best bullpens in baseball, so he might not even be one of the top options.

On the other hand, Hayden Birdsong will take his place in the rotation. He has posted a 2.31 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 10 walks in 23.1 frames out of the bullpen this year. That was not an ideal role for someone who the Giants view as a starting pitcher, but he did add value by being able to handle multiple innings. He is slated to start on Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals.