The Giants made two necessary moves for different reasons.
The San Francisco Giants have announced that IF Tyler Fitzgerald has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in order to create a roster spot for SP Justin Verlander, who was set to return from paternity leave. If you’ve been watching Fitzgerald closely this season (as I have), then his demotion was overdue.
I’ve been enamored of Fitzgerald for a long time now and labeled him the team’s most exciting player in my 2024 review. A lot of his 3-win value last season came from an extended hot stretch that certainly suggested he was more flash in the pan than genuine development success. But then he hit .284/.341/.432 in his first 90 plate appearances of this season and his stellar defense remained and, well, we were all given permission to continue dreaming big on him. Until the last day of April. That’s when he fractured his rib.
Since returning from the IL following rehab from it, he’s slashed .186/.245/.227 in 110 plate appearances. The defense has still been there, but little else, and now he’ll get the chance to either work his way back to full strength — if the rib injury is the lingering problem — or sort out his swing. He’s swinging outside of the strike zone nearly a third of the time right now, a significant jump off last season. Thankfully, I wasn’t delusional in that end of year review. The organization likes him, too.
This feels like a reset, similar to what they did with Doval last August. Posey has always been a fan and the coaching staff still believes in the talent — even if Schmitt takes time at 2B, this roster needs someone with Fitzgerald’s skill set. https://t.co/n3hryZr6O3
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 23, 2025
Casey Schmitt has worked his butt off to put himself in the position to be the everyday second baseman once Matt Chapman returns, but in the meantime, the situation gets no worse keeping him at third base. At least, I find it difficult to imagine that a Koss/Wisely combo could be worse than replacement-level Tyler Fitzgerald.
Meanwhile, congratulations to Justin Verlander and family on the birth of their second child. Great stuff! Have to imagine it’s tough to work across the country from a newborn. On the other hand, Verlander’s performance this season has been shaky enough that he might be on a path to spend a lot more time with the new arrival this year. Is that mean? Maybe.
The 42-year old was in a 6-game stretch where he looked to be straightening out his season (3.80 ERA in 33.1 IP), but his first start off the IL following a pectoral issue was suggestive of the Verlander who began the season (6.75 ERA in his first 18.2 IP). While it’s true the Giants traded away a bit of their pitching depth in the Rafael Devers deal, it stands to reason that the next few starts for Verlander will be critical for determining the team’s needs at the deadline. In other words, he could pitch well enough to minimize the need to acquire another starting pitcher to eat some innings.
On the other hand, 140 innings of 4.50/4.75 ERA ball from Verlander might work out, but in combination with 4.50 ball from Birdsong and Roupp and a similar innings limit (a limit I’m assuming as both youngsters are on a path to bursting through previous innings records on their amrs), that’s going to put a lot of stress on Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and the bullpen to be well above average. A lot of variables that could spell doom for the Giants down the stretch — unless Verlander can pitch himself above the “back of the rotation” fray.