Giants Might Have Another Pitching Problem: Hayden Birdsong Now Dealing With An Elbow Issue

Spring training is supposed to be the time when pitchers ramp up.

Not when elbows start raising red flags.

But that’s exactly the situation the San Francisco Giants suddenly find themselves in with one of their most interesting young arms.

Story Breakdown

San Francisco Giants right-hander Hayden Birdsong is dealing with an elbow injury, and the team is currently waiting on further medical evaluation to determine the severity.

The issue surfaced during a spring training outing against Cleveland.

Birdsong only pitched one inning before leaving the game, even though there were no obvious signs of discomfort at the time and his fastball was still touching 99 mph on the radar gun.

Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey confirmed the elbow issue, saying the organization is now waiting for the team’s medical staff to determine the next steps.

Which means the Giants are now sitting in that uncomfortable place every team dreads this time of year:

Waiting for MRI results.

Reaction & Commentary

This situation matters for San Francisco because Birdsong is one of those pitchers the organization has been hoping can turn into a real piece of the rotation.

The 24-year-old right-hander flashed serious upside last season, especially early on when he transitioned from the bullpen into the rotation and posted a 3.24 ERA across his first five starts.

That stretch showed exactly why the Giants have been excited about his arm.

Upper-90s velocity.
Strikeout stuff.
And the type of raw power arsenal teams love developing.

But the rest of the season was uneven.

Birdsong struggled with command and eventually ended up back in Triple-A after his performance dipped later in the year.

Which made this spring important.

It was supposed to be another opportunity to prove he could lock down a role on the big-league pitching staff.

Now everything is on pause.

Final Take

The Giants aren’t panicking yet.

But elbow injuries always make people nervous in baseball, especially when they involve a young pitcher with big velocity.

Right now the team is waiting on medical feedback before making any decisions.

And until those results come back…

Every Giants fan is going to be holding their breath a little bit.

Because when a pitcher’s elbow becomes the story in March, the next headline is rarely a fun one.

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