San Francisco Giants Make Final Decision on High-Upside Reliever for Opening Day

The San Francisco Giants have made a final decision on one of their bullpen arms heading into open day.

Sep 25, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Spencer Bivens (76) throws in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants are making some final decisions regarding their Opening Day roster.

This time the decision was about a bullpen arm.

The back end of their bullpen is set. Ryan Walker will be the main closer for the team while Camilo Doval is poised to have a bounce back year in a set up or high-leverage role.

However, they still have to fill out some of their mid-relief roles, and that is where their latest roster decision comes into play.

As reported by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, manager Bob Melvin announced that Spencer Bivens will be added to the bullpen.

Bivens made his debut last season, and he pitched really well.

The right-hander appeared in 27 games, threw 48.2 innings, struck out 37 batters, walked 11 and finished with an ERA of 3.14. Additionally, his ERA+ was well above average at 123, and he had a 3-1 record.

Per Baseball Savant, the 30-year-old had a hard-hit percentage of 36.6% and his ground ball rate was elite (54.2%). Bivens is not going to strike out a whole bunch of batters, but he creates weak contact and gets outs.

The other thing to like about Bivens is his ability to go multiple innings with the ability to start games.

He started just two contests last season, but he routinely threw more than one inning out of the bullpen. One of his relief outings was four innings long and one of his starts was five innings.

The 6-foot-5 righty is a very versatile pitcher which is what makes him valuable.

Melvin has recognized the importance of Bivens.

"... the performance is what got him to the big leagues and kept him here. And the versatility is something that you don't often get. We saw him go five innings in a start last year, he came in with guys on base at times, he's basically done everything for us and has had a good spring on top of it," Melvin said, per Pavlovic.

Bivens should get plenty of opportunities to begin the season.

Those could come early in the game or late, but no matter the case, he will be ready for the challenge.

With his versatility, his command of the strike zone and his ability to get outs, the Giants have a high-upside reliever in their bullpen.