SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After his struggles to find the strike zone, Hayden Birdsong seemed to find a breakthrough in his last spring outing. Now, the promising young starter might be broken.
An MRI revealed a Grade 2 sprain in the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, the Giants announced Sunday. Birdsong will fly to Dallas to seek a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister, but the diagnosis is a common precursor to Tommy John surgery.
“Certainly not the best-case scenario,” manager Tony Vitello said. “But hopefully we can get the best-case scenario of the unfortunate circumstances.”
A Grade 2 strain typically means there is at least a partial tear in the ligament. Birdsong could attempt to rehab the injury and return this season without surgery. Reliever Randy Rodriguez pitched through a torn UCL but eventually needed to have it surgically repaired.
Birdsong was still around Sunday morning and “in good spirits,” according to Vitello, who had a brief conversation with him and the Giants’ medical staff. He said it would “probably be a day or two” before Birdsong decides one way or the other but added that “I would think” the 24-year-old right-hander would attempt to avoid surgery if possible.
Birdsong first reported discomfort in his elbow after throwing a scoreless inning Tuesday against the Guardians. He told reporters that it began to act up after a curveball to the last batter he faced.
The hard-throwing right-hander entered camp in competition for one of the final spots in the starting rotation or as a swingman out of the bullpen. He won a job in the Opening Day bullpen last spring and went on to post a 4.80 ERA over 21 appearances, including 10 starts.
But he struggled to command his electric arsenal, issuing 37 walks in 65 2/3 innings. He had a 3.25 ERA before walking 17 batters and surrendering 16 runs the final four times he took the mound.
Pitching coach Justin Meccage said they made an adjustment to Birdsong’s delivery before spring, but the same issues cropped up when exhibitions began.
Birdsong had likely already been lapped by a couple of the Giants’ other young pitchers — Landen Roupp for the fifth rotation spot, Trevor McDonald in the bullpen — after surrendering eight runs on seven hits and three walks while recording four total outs in his first two Cactus League appearances. Only 33 of his 58 pitches across the two outings landed for strikes.
But after Birdsong’s last time out, Meccage said, “We were really encouraged about where he’s at [and] the progress that he’s made.”
Birdsong retired three of the four Cleveland batters he faced and threw 15 of his 21 pitches for strikes.
“It was 97 to 100 (mph) in the strike zone with four pitches,” Meccage said, later adding, “I think we’re to a point now where he’s feeling like, ‘OK, I can go out there and feel pretty good about what’s coming out of my hand.”
Then the discomfort started.
Straight from the department of bad timing.
“I don’t think the timing is ever good,” Vitello said before putting a positive spin on the news. “You can try to spin it [to him] as, ‘Now I can work on this’ … or ‘At least I have it behind me.’ He’s a pretty positive kid. … I think he’ll approach the whole deal the right way regardless of what it is.”
The Giants’ pitching depth was already a question after the only additions the team made over the winter were a pair of veteran starters on one-year deals, Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser.
Manager Buster Posey indicated the team was comfortable leaning on its assortment of young arms, beginning with Birdsong. The group also includes Roupp and McDonald, who appear primed to break camp with the big club, but also Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour and Blade Tidwell, who haven’t necessarily looked like reliable depth options so far through spring.
The stable of arms all of a sudden doesn’t look so stable.
“Yeah, I think a fair question of is there any doubt, or if you guys were going to throw out criticism, is: Is there the depth with the starting pitching when you remove a guy,” Vitello said. “But I think the depth, if you’re talking about the whole group, is still strong. …
“I would love to have Birdie be a part of that group because he does have a little bit of ability to swing back and forth between starting and bullpen. We’ll dive into who provides that depth on the starting roles but … I do feel good about the competitiveness and the depth.”
