SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants¡¯ Opening Day rotation is set, with Landen Roupp officially edging out Hayden Birdsong for the final spot in the starting five.
Roupp will join Logan Webb, Justin Verlander, Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks in the rotation, though the Giants also plan to carry Birdsong on their initial 26-man roster and have him pitch out of the bullpen to start the year.
The fifth-starter competition was one of the most intriguing spring storylines for the Giants, though the 26-year-old Roupp ultimately came out on top after striking out eight over five innings of one-run ball in his final exhibition start against Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday.
¡°It¡¯s exciting,¡± Roupp said following the Giants¡¯ 6-4 win over the Tigers on Monday night at Oracle Park. ¡°It¡¯s what I wanted. I¡¯m happy about it.
¡°Coming into camp, I knew I had to compete and pitch well to make the team, let alone make it as a starter. That¡¯s kind of what I did, and here we are.¡±
Birdsong, 23, also impressed after logging a 0.75 ERA with no walks and 18 strikeouts over his first four Cactus League appearances, but he was hampered by a cracked fingernail in his outing against the River Cats on Sunday and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks while recording only one out.
It¡¯s the second straight year that Roupp has earned a spot on the Giants¡¯ Opening Day roster, as he also came out of nowhere to win a bullpen job last spring. Roupp primarily pitched in relief last season, but he got a brief look in San Francisco¡¯s rotation at the end of the season and showed his potential by recording a 3.86 ERA over four September starts.
¡°We saw it last year, especially at the end,¡± manager Bob Melvin said. ¡°He¡¯s a pretty determined young man. Both of them had great springs, so really we could go either way with it. Both of them are kind of made to be starters. But I think [Roupp] pitched a little bit more towards the end. Yesterday, Bird had a little bit of a cracked nail that kind of affected stretching him out yesterday. So that¡¯s how we¡¯ll proceed.¡±
Unlike Roupp, Birdsong doesn¡¯t have a ton of experience pitching out of the bullpen, though he was used as a reliever in college, which could help him acclimate to the new role. Birdsong got stretched out to five innings during Cactus League play, so he should be available to provide length out of the bullpen and could easily slide back into the rotation if needs arise during the regular season.
¡°We want to start with what we think is our best group,¡± Melvin said. ¡°As we¡¯ve talked all spring, we feel like we have a lot of depth as far as starting pitching. Depending on how we use him, if he gets some outings that are three innings or more, I don¡¯t know that he couldn¡¯t be stretched out and be that guy. The farther you go along, maybe not. But we¡¯re trying to reward guys that have had good springs and deserve to be on the team.¡±
¡°Obviously, it¡¯s my first Opening Day I get to be a part of,¡± Birdsong said. ¡°Hopefully there¡¯s many more to come. I¡¯d like to have the starting job, but I know that¡¯s not always in my control. I¡¯m still going to probably try and get that at some point.¡±
The decision to slot Birdsong into a relief role also clarifies the outlook for the rest of the bullpen, which is projected to include Ryan Walker, Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval, Erik Miller, Randy Rodr¨ªguez and Spencer Bivens, who was also informed he made the team on Monday. The final spot is likely to come down to two non-roster invitees -- Lou Trivino and Joel Peguero -- both of whom didn¡¯t give up a run during Cactus League action.
One notable omission from the relief mix will be Sean Hjelle, who spent the entire 2024 campaign in the Giants¡¯ bullpen but was surprisingly optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday after logging a 6.75 ERA over seven Cactus League appearances this spring.
¡°Here¡¯s a guy that was on our team the whole year last year,¡± Melvin said. ¡°That stings a little bit. But the message is we¡¯re trying to keep as many guys as we possibly can here, and sometimes it comes down to results in spring. Some other guys that are here right now have had better springs. But you go through so many pitchers over the course of the season. The message was make sure you stay ready because it can happen very quickly.¡±