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The Giants moved Birdsong (forearm) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
Birdsong is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery next week, so his move to the 60-day IL was inevitable. The transaction frees up a spot on San Francisco's 40-man roster for veteran reliever Ryan Borucki, who was signed to a one-year contract Saturday.
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Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Out for season
Rotowire
Birdsong (forearm/elbow) is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery next week, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
An MRI on Birdsong's right arm Sunday revealed a Grade 2 forearm strain and a UCL sprain. After receiving a second opinion, the 24-year-old righty has opted to undergo surgery to address the issue, which will rule him out for the entire 2026 campaign in addition to the start of 2027.
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Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Surgery on table
Rotowire
Birdsong said Wednesday that he recently met with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister for a second opinion on his right forearm and is weighing whether to undergo surgery or treat the injury through rest and rehab, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Recently diagnosed with a Grade 2 right forearm strain, Birdsong looks destined to miss extended time to begin the season regardless of how he elects to treat the injury. While surgery would provide a more permanent fix for the forearm injury than rest and rehab, Birdsong would likely be sidelined through at least the middle of the 2027 season if he opts for a procedure to repair his UCL and/or flexor tendon. Expect Birdsong to make a decision on his treatment plan within the next few days.
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Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Problem with UCL
Rotowire
Birdsong was diagnosed with a Grade 2 forearm strain and UCL sprain after undergoing an MRI on Sunday and will meet with Dr. Keith Meister for a second opinion, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that the right-hander was headed for a second opinion on his arm injury, and that certainly makes sense given the initial diagnosis. Birdsong is weighing the treatment options, and surgery is likely to be on the table.
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Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Getting second opinion
Rotowire
Birdsong is getting a second opinion on the forearm discomfort he is dealing with, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Birdsong said he hopes to only miss weeks with the issue, but a second opinion is typically reserved for when surgery has been recommended, so this is an ominous sign. The 24-year-old righty had given up eight runs while walking three batters and striking out two in 2.1 innings this spring, but he says his arm felt fine prior to Tuesday, so the injury isn't to blame for his poor results.
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Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Being evaluated for elbow injury
Rotowire
Birdsong is being evaluated for an elbow injury Thursday, Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The nature of Birdsong's injury isn't clear, so it's unknown if this will be a long-term issue for the 24-year-old right-hander. He has been roughed up this spring, allowing eight earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and three walks across 2.1 innings. Even prior to the injury, Birdsong was viewed as a long shot to open the season in the Giants' rotation.
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Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Struggles in Cactus League opener
Rotowire
Birdsong allowed five earned runs on three hits, including a home run, and two walks across one-third of an inning during Saturday's 10-5 Cactus League win over the Mariners.
Birdsong started Saturday's matchup and immediately surrendered two singles and a walk before giving up a grand slam to Miles Mastrobuoni. After opening the 2025 campaign as a reliever and joining the rotation in mid-May, Birdsong was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in July and never returned to the majors. The right-hander is expected to compete for a bullpen spot on the Opening Day roster.
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Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Working on mechanics this offseason
Rotowire
Birdsong has been working on staying more upright with his delivery this offseason as he looks to improve his command, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
In his first 16 appearances (five starts) last season, Birdsong collected a 2.79 ERA and 51:19 K:BB over 48.1 innings. He then posted a 10.38 ERA and 17:18 K:BB over his next five outings, got optioned to Triple-A Sacramento and never returned to the majors. Birdsong believes he was "over-bending," which made his arm slot rise and the movement on his pitches get out of whack. The 24-year-old is pleased with his mechanical work over the winter, and he's also tentatively planning to pitch exclusively from the stretch in 2026 after he used a windup in 2025 for the first time since college. There's currently not room for Birdsong in the Giants' rotation, and he's had trouble throwing strikes both in the majors (13.1 percent walk rate) and minors (11.3 percent walk rate). However, with a 25.4 percent strikeout rate in the majors and 32.3 percent strikeout rate in the minors, Birdsong could still have upside if he's able to get his walk rate to an acceptable level.
Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Sent down after disastrous start
Rotowire
The Giants optioned Birdsong to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The transaction comes one day after Birdsong failed to record an out while allowing five runs on one hit and four walks in a loss to Atlanta. The disastrous outing was more than just a one-start blip for the righty, as Birdsong had collected a 10.38 ERA and 17:18 K:BB across 17.1 innings covering his last five outings. Carson Seymour has been recalled from Sacramento and could take Birdsong's spot in the rotation, with Mason Black and Carson Whisenhunt also representing options.
Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Fails to record an out Monday
Rotowire
Birdsong (4-4) suffered the loss Monday at Atlanta, allowing five runs on one hit, four walks and a hit-by-pitch while not retiring any of the six batters he faced.
This was a disastrous outing for the 23-year-old, as he completely lost his sense of the strike zone, firing just six strikes out of 25 total pitches. Entering this contest, Birdsong has issued four or more free passes in each of his previous three appearances, over which he produced a 7.62 ERA across 13 innings. This poor performance ballooned Birdsong's ERA from 4.11 to 4.80 over 65.2 total innings. The Giants had already skipped a rotation turn for the young right-hander prior to the All-Star break, as his last start came July 6, signaling the team was already considering a relief role for him. Birdsong is currently scheduled to make his next start against the Mets at home this weekend, but it would not be surprising to see the Giants either move him to the bullpen or demote him following this calamitous performance.
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