Giants Experiment Moving Relief Pitcher to Rotation Has Been Complete Failure

The San Francisco Giants are about to enter the meat of the regular season where it truly feels like things could go either way after what was a hot start.

Sitting now at 24-15, it seems tough to predict which version of the team is going to show up on any given night and therefore difficult to evaluate what the ceiling is.

Pitching was always a concern entering the season for the Giants, and while some guys have stepped up to elevate the rotation as a whole, there's one name there who has not held up his end of the bargain.

San Francisco handed Jordan Hicks a lucrative contract prior to the 2024 season with the intention of turning the career reliever into a starting pitcher.

It was an out of the box idea, but Hicks would hardly have been the first to make the transition successfully had things worked out.

His first year was not exactly awful and there were flashes, finishing with a 4.10 ERA in 29 appearances including 20 starts.

This year however, while the hope was that Hicks would take that next step, it has not happened. Over the first eight starts of the season, he has pitched to a 5.82 ERA and 1.408, both marks that when extrapolated over a full season would be the worst of his career.

There's some statistics pointing to the fact that Hicks is getting a bit unlucky this year, but he just has not been able to get over that hump.

Independently, Hicks has not been poor enough -- at least not yet -- to be booted from the rotation, but it's what's currently in the bullpen that makes this even worse.

Hayden Birdsong has been flat out dominant in a long reliever role, and while the argument can be made not to move him from a role he's flourishing in, this is a guy who has all the makings of a future ace.

On top of Birdsong, after not making the roster out of camp, fellow youngster Kyle Harrison has made his return to the big leagues and also looks very solid over his first two appearances out of the bullpen.

Most importantly with Harrison, the velocity he lacked in spring seems to be back.

Hicks on the other hand could excel in a long reliever role as he seems to get weaker over the course of games.

Granted, that is not what the Giants are paying him to do, but it has become clear both Birdsong and Harrison are more deserving of the spot in the rotation than Hicks.

It's never easy to admit a mistake, but if San Francisco wants to strengthen the pitching staff and redistribute the talent, ultimately giving themselves a better chance to win, it may be time to make a change.