Spencer

Bivens

The Giants are putting Bivens to work; he started Sunday on three days’ rest after a relief appearance and now pitched in relief on three days’ rest tonight. It had looked like he’d probably start Sunday against the Padres, but we assume that’s off the table now. Perhaps he will pitch then as part of a bullpen game.

Bivens was filling in for Kyle Harrison today. He might head back to the pen when Robbie Ray gets back, but he’s been excellent in amassing a 2.77 ERA through 39 innings (two starts, 18 relief appearances). If he stays in the rotation, he’ll face the Padres again next weekend.

He’ll be taking the spot of Kyle Harrison, who is probably out for the year. Bivens will be pitching on three days’ rest after throwing four innings in relief Wednesday. One imagines he’ll probably be limited to three or four innings as a result.

Bivens returns to San Francisco’s relief corps to replace an injured Randy Rodríguez (elbow) prior to Thursday’s showdown against the Braves. The 30-year-old righty has recorded a sparkling 1.99 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 18/6 K/BB ratio across 22 2/3 innings (11 appearances, one start) this season in the majors.

We’re guessing the Double-A assignment is based on the Giants planning a quick return for him. He has a 1.99 ERA over 22 2/3 innings in two major league stints.

Bivens has pitched extremely well this season at the highest level for San Francisco, posting a sparkling 2.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 16/5 K/BB ratio across 17 innings (seven appearances, one start). The unheralded 30-year-old righty figures to continue pitching in long relief for the Giants, which certainly limits his appeal for fantasy managers.

Bivens loses his spot on San Francisco’s active roster with former top prospect Kyle Harrison returning from the injured list to take the ball on Saturday against the Guardians. The unheralded 30-year-old righty looked pretty sharp in a handful of appearances for the Giants, posting a sparkling 2.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 16/5 K/BB ratio across 17 innings (seven appearances, one start). He figures to be back in the majors in a couple weeks as a versatile swingman.

Bivens flummoxed Los Angeles’ star-studded lineup for four frames in his first career start, and also got plenty of run support from San Francisco’s lineup, which put up nine runs on 12 hits through four frames to open the contest. A one-out solo shot from Chris Taylor in the fifth inning represented the lone tally against him in this one. It was an impressive showing for the unheralded 30-year-old journeyman who holds a stellar 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 14/4 K/BB ratio across 14 innings (six appearances, one start). No guarantees yet, but Bivens is in line to face the Guardians on Saturday, and represents an increasingly intriguing streaming option for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.

Bivens will give the Giants some help in the bullpen, and he takes the roster spot of Kyle Harrison after Harrison suffered a sprained ankle. There’s no real fantasy value here, but it’s an excellent story for a 30-year-old who has a chance to make his MLB debut in the coming days.

Though he’d seem to be better defensively than Marco Luciano there, Schmitt wasn’t taken seriously as a shortstop candidate this spring, playing the position just twice. Most of his time came at third. He hit just .111/.258/.231 in 31 plate appearances, so it’s not like he was making a case anyway. Villar, who opened last year in the majors, was far better, coming in at .308/.400/.667, but even before the Matt Chapman signing, it didn’t look like he had a path to making the roster.