{"id":2640,"date":"2026-06-20T20:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T20:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2640"},"modified":"2026-06-20T20:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T20:07:16","slug":"sf-giants-demote-houser-to-bullpen-as-mahle-nears-return-to-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2640","title":{"rendered":"SF Giants demote Houser to bullpen as Mahle nears return to rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>With Tyler Mahle nearing a return from the injured list, the Giants are moving right-hander Adrian Houser to the bullpen and keeping rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald in the rotation, manager Tony Vitello told reporters in Miami on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2638\">Mark Zuckerberg used his young daughter to ingratiate himself to Trump: book<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Houser, 33, signed a two-year, $22 million deal with San Francisco in the offseason (with a club option for 2028) following a career year in 2025, but the right-hander has been one of baseball\u2019s worst starters.<\/p>\n<p>Over 14 starts, Houser has a 2-6 record with a 5.73 ERA and 5.33 FIP over 66 innings. Per Baseball Reference, Houser has been worth -0.9 WAR, the lowest of any Giant pitcher this season.<\/p>\n<p>Houser has plenty of experience as a reliever, having made 48 appearances out of the bullpen in his major league career. As a multi-inning reliever, Houser has a 2.32 ERA and 3.96 FIP over 97 innings.<\/p>\n<p>Mahle, placed on the injured list in late May with a left hamstring strain, will make his return to the mound on Wednesday against the Athletics, but the 31-year-old righty will need to prove he\u2019s worthy of staying in the rotation. Before hitting the injured list, Mahle posted a 6.04 ERA and 4.88 FIP over his first 11 starts.<\/p>\n<p>Rookie left-hander Carson Whisenhunt impressed in his season debut on Thursday, allowing two runs over five-plus innings against the Atlanta Braves\u2019 formidable offense. Whisenhunt, the 27th man for Thursday\u2019s doubleheader, has since returned to Triple-A Sacramento, but the 25-year-old is clearly the next starter up.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2636\">Mailbag: How the Senate bill could spark realignment, fate of the Group of Six, two 24-team conferences and loads more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>McDonald, 25, has had some ups and downs since joining the rotation in mid-May but has impressed on the whole.<\/p>\n<p>Over eight starts, McDonald has a 4.64 ERA and 3.87 FIP over 42 2\/3 innings with 41 strikeouts. McDonald is posting a groundball rate of 57.7 percent, which ranks in the 96th percentile of all qualified pitchers.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Oliva designated for assignment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Outfielder Jared Oliva was reinstated from the 60-day injured list (left wrist hamate fracture), then designated for assignment on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Oliva, 30, made the Giants\u2019 Opening Day roster despite being a non-roster invitee in spring training, his first time being in the majors since July 2021. The outfielder seldom played, going 1-for-7 with a run scored and a steal before sustaining an injury in mid-April.<\/p>\n<p>With rookie Jonah Cox already on the roster, Oliva\u2019s role as a speed-and-defense-first outfielder would\u2019ve been redundant on this team.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2634\">Mourners bury a 6-month-old Ebola victim in the Congo outbreak\u2019s third orphanage death<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Houser had a 2-6 record with a 5.73 ERA over 14 starts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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