The San Francisco Giants designated right-hander Spencer Bivens for assignment before their series against the San Diego Padres.
Three days after his DFA, Bivens was claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals, reports Alex Pavolvic of NBC Sports Bay Area.
This ends a five-year tenure with the Giants organization. San Francisco signed Bivens out of independent ball during the 2022 season. The right-hander made his MLB debut for San Francisco in the 2024 season.
In 85 career appearances, two of them starts, Bivens has a 4.08 ERA in 134.2 innings. Most of them came in the 2025 season, where he had a 4.00 ERA in 81 innings of relief.
The Giants claimed Duncan Davitt off waivers from the Braves. Ultimately, they opened up that roster spot by designating Bivens. Davitt was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.
Spencer Bivens 2026 Season
Spencer Bivens hasn’t been with the Giants for much of 2026. He’s pitched in just four games this season. He’s allowed runs in three of the four, allowing four runs in his final two appearances with the club. Overall, he had a 14.40 ERA across five innings.
He’s spent most of the season pitching for Sacramento. In fact, that’s where he was when the Giants elected to cut ties with the right-hander. He had burned his last minor league option this season, which can be problematic for an up-and-down arm.
Ultimately, the Giants cut ties. They attempted to pass Bivens through outright waivers. Had he successfully cleared, he would have been outrighted to Sacramento.
Instead, he’ll finish out the year in the Royals organization. The Royals optioned Bivens to Triple-A Omaha after claiming him.
San Francisco Giants Right Now
The Giants took back-to-back close losses to the San Diego Padres. They’re now 62-87 and were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. It marks the fifth straight season the club has failed to qualify after a 107-win season.
There are a lot of questions for the Giants to answer in the offseason. They’ve never been close to the postseason in any of the last five years. In the previous four years, they’ve sat between 79 and 81 wins. This year, they’ll finish with north of 90 losses.
The bullpen is one of many areas that president of baseball operations Buster Posey and the Giants front office need to address. It will be interesting if the former National League MVP’s seat will get hot next season.
San Francisco Giants Reliever Claimed Off Waivers by AL Central Team After DFA