Sean

Hjelle

The 28-year-old hurler will hit the open market after refusing an outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento. Hjelle made 12 appearances with the Giants during the 2025 season, registering an uninspiring 7.80 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and an 11/9 K/BB ratio across 15 innings of work. He’ll most likely have to settle for a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training in free agency.

Hjelle went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 6-foot-11 righty has posted a calamitous 7.80 ERA across 15 innings (12 appearances, one start) this season in the big leagues.

San Francisco is moving on from Hjelle after he posted a disastrous 7.80 ERA across 15 innings (12 appearances, one start) this season in the big leagues.

This opens up a spot for Monday’s starter, Carson Whisenhunt, though the Giants haven’t officially added him yet. Hjelle made three appearances for the Giants and gave up four runs in three innings.

MLB still hasn’t had anything to say about the abuse allegations made by Hjelle’s wife last month, and he apparently remains in good standing with the Giants organization. He’ll return to his middle relief role after amassing a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings since being shipped out last month.

The move comes less than a week after Hjelle was accused of heinous acts of abuse by his wife in social media posts. He’ll head to the minors with Carson Seymour recalled from Triple-A to take his place on the active roster.

Caroline Hjelle made the serious allegations on Friday in a TikTok post. The Giants addressed the situation directly on Saturday afternoon with a team statement. “We are aware of these serious allegations. We have been in contact with MLB. These type of allegations fall under their jurisdiction and we won’t be commenting further.” The 28-year-old could face discipline under the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy once a league investigation concludes. It’s unclear whether he’ll be placed on administrative leave at this time or if the league has launched an official investigation.

Hjelle piled up five strikeouts on the night while issuing a pair of walks. The 28-year-old hurler drew the unexpected start after Sunday’s scheduled starter, Kyle Harrison, was dealt to the Red Sox just before first pitch. He allowed a run on a sacrifice fly in the opening inning and then served up a solo homer to Tommy Edman in the second inning. He threw 54 pitches (33 strikes) in the game, so expect him to be unavailable out of the bullpen for at least the next couple of days.

It sounds like the Giants will now go with a bullpen game on Sunday with Sean Hjelle warming up in the team’s bullpen and expected to start the game. With Justin Verlander (pectoral) likely to rejoin the Giants’ rotation during the upcoming week, it had been anticipated that Harrison would lose his spot in the Giants’ rotation. Now it sounds like he’s heading to the Red Sox where he’ll have an opportunity to stick at the big league level. Stay tuned.

Hjelle returns to San Francisco’s bullpen mix ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Padres with Jordan Hicks hitting the injured list with toe inflammation. The 28-year-old righty will be making his season debut when he gets into a game. He made a career-high 58 relief appearances last year for the Giants.