Could This Former Giants Starter Find His Long-Term Role as a Key Bullpen Piece?

The San Francisco Giants have been on an absolute tear to kick off the 2025 season, and as they currently sit in third place among National League West teams with a 24-14 record, they still have some work to do to catch up to their rivals. Their pitching staff has been an enormous strength through the first month and few weeks of the season, and it has forced them into somewhat of a bind, moving starters to the bullpen due to the depth they have at the position.

One of the most notable instances of this in 2025 was Hayden Birdsong, who, after 16 games started in 2024, would move to the bullpen in a somewhat surprising move after the Giants swapped many pieces around before the season. The amazing part is, it has worked exceptionally well. Birdsong has a 1.47 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 19 strikeouts to eight walks, and only three earned runs allowed in nine appearances. He has mostly been used in short relief as well, pitching a total of 18.1 innings, allowing him to show the best parts of his pitching repertoire before being pulled.

Another player has recently undergone the same transition to the bullpen, that being Kyle Harrison, who after 31 career MLB starts would move to be a reliever. Could it be his long-term outlook?

Could Kyle Harrison's Long-Term Future Be in the Bullpen?

Kyle Harrison was moved into a relief role this offseason, having made 31 of his 31 appearances as a starter over the past few seasons. The 23-year old has shown really impressive stuff in that span, but never really became someone the team could rely on in long outings, as he would see pretty drastic drop-offs in his pitching after the fourth and fifth innings.

Instead, the team decided utilizing those bursts of success behind a starter may be in the best interest of the team and of Harrison, and if his first outing is any indication, that may be the case. In his first MLB appearance of the year after being recalled, he pitched the closing inning against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, striking out two of the batters he faced and allowing no hits to wrap up the game.

His two-pitch repertoire in the outing worked well between a four-seam fastball and a slider, with a decent amount of induced break on both. He looked comfortable using just the two pitches despite using six in 2024, and this is somewhat intriguing given it is the polar opposite of his typical outing. If he can continue to find his stride with a smaller sample size in relief, he may end up being a crucial bullpen piece for San Francisco in the coming years.