The San Francisco Giants have made their first roster move of the season not driven by injury, promoting promising left-hander Kyle Harrison to the majors and designating veteran reliever Lou Trivino for assignment.
Until now, the Giants’ roster changes were strictly due to injuries. For instance, when infielder Casey Schmitt landed on the injured list, David Villar was called up from Triple-A. The same happened recently with Brett Wisely stepping in after Tyler Fitzgerald went down with a cracked rib.
Harrison’s call-up is the first performance-based move of the year, and it’s easy to see why. He’s been impressive lately at Triple-A, with increased velocity and 38 strikeouts over 26 innings for the Sacramento River Cats, along with a 3.46 ERA.
On the other hand, while Trivino hasn’t been disastrous, he hasn’t provided much value out of the bullpen. He posted a 5.84 ERA across 12.1 innings, with most of the damage coming from a rough outing against the Brewers in which he gave up five earned runs.
Trivino was signed to a minor league deal earlier this year and made the Opening Day roster after a strong spring and his prior relationship with manager Bob Melvin, dating back to their time together in Oakland where Trivino served as closer.
Recently, Trivino had been used primarily in low-pressure situations. With Spencer Bivens already filling that role, keeping both pitchers felt unnecessary, especially while Harrison was performing well in Triple-A.
Harrison will begin his major league stint in the bullpen, giving the Giants another left-handed option alongside Erik Miller. If he performs well, he could potentially move into the rotation, though Hayden Birdsong appears to be next in line for a bullpen role should the team need one.
Regardless, Harrison’s return to the big leagues is a positive development. His ability to bounce back from a Triple-A assignment and improve shows resilience and could signal a strong impact for the Giants this season.