Giants notes: Devers, Birdsong, rotation, outfield

Rafael Devers made the first start of his career at first base for the Giants this week and, coincidentally or not, belted his first two home runs in nearly a month the following day. The recently acquired Giants infielder has now tallied three straight multi-hit games an looks to be emerging from a lengthy slump. He said after his first base debut that he briefly felt a bit nervous at his new position but quickly settled in (link via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle).

With Devers now ticketed for more regular work at first base, Wilmer Flores seems likely to pick up more DH at-bats. He’d been struggling at the plate while playing the infield corners (primarily first base) over the past month. For a player who struggled through knee troubles all last season before that knee ended his 2024 campaign, getting off his feet a bit more in the DH spot could prove beneficial. Devers is also playing through a back issue, but the two can perhaps now share time between the two spots in the short term. Devers added after last night’s game that he thinks he’s a better hitter when playing in the field, noting that it “keeps my head out of just thinking about the next at-bat.”

While Devers will surely be their biggest acquisition of the summer, there’s still room for the 54-49 Giants to upgrade the roster. They’ve been looking into second base options (Isiah Kiner-Falefa reportedly among them), and some recent struggles near the back of the rotation — coupled with lefty Kyle Harrison’s inclusion in the Devers return — have created some questions on the starting staff as well.

[Related: San Francisco Giants Trade Deadline Outlook]

San Francisco optioned right-hander Hayden Birdsong to Triple-A Sacramento earlier this week after a start in which he yielded five runs to the Braves (in large part because of four walks) without recording an out. That proved to be the tipping point, but Birdsong’s struggles extended well beyond that one nightmare outing. The 23-year-old was the talk of spring training thanks to a dominant performance and looked like a revelation out of the bullpen early in the season. San Francisco moved him into the rotation in late May, and the early returns were good: five starts, 25 innings, 3.24 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate.

Things went downhill from there. Birdsong was tagged for 14 runs in 12 1/3 innings across his next three starts. He bounced back with a strong performance against the A’s but then bottomed out with this week’s collapse versus Atlanta. All told, he has a 10.38 ERA (22 runs, 20 earned) over his past five starts — a span of just 17 1/3 innings.

The Giants are still weighing their options to replace Birdsong, but the back of the rotation’s struggles don’t end there. Justin Verlander finally picked up his first win as a Giant yesterday but did so while scattering five walks over five scoreless innings. He’s started 17 games and pitched to a 4.70 ERA over the life of 84 1/3 innings. Since returning from a monthlong IL stint due to a pectoral strain on June 18, Verlander has a 5.29 ERA with a 19.2% strikeout rate.

Verlander is the clear fourth starter behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and breakout righty Landen Roupp at the moment. In-house alternatives like Trevor McDonald, Carson Ragsdale and Mason Black have posted underwhelming results in Triple-A. Righty Carson Seymour has been working in long relief but pitched pretty well as a starter in Triple-A. There’s certainly room to add a starter to solidify the back of the staff and provide some insurance against an injury to Webb or Ray — either of which would be a devastating loss.

Both Rubinand John Shea and Kerry Crowley of the San Francisco Standard called out a right-handed-hitting outfielder as a potential area for upgrade this week. It’s a sensible pursuit, given Mike Yastrzemski’s longstanding struggles against left-handed pitching. The Giants have given 110 plate appearances to 23-year-old Luis Matos this year, but he’s posted just a .173/.218/.375 batting line in that time.

Righty-swinging outfielders expected to be available include Minnesota’s Harrison Bader, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, the Orioles’ Ramon Laureano and perhaps Chas McCormick of the Astros or Adolis Garcia of the Rangers. Not all of those outfielders will change hands, of course. The White Sox would very likely need to pay down some of Robert’s salary, but they’re willing to do so and he’s caught fire at the plate recently, making him a more interesting option than he might’ve been even one month ago.