Phillies Floated as Potential Trade Destination for Giants Flamethrower
The Philadelphia Phillies have been tabbed as a potential trade destination for this San Francisco Giants pitcher.
Video Transcript
So with the Phillies losing Ranger Suarez to free agency this offseason, and with Zach Wheeler still recovering from TOS, the Phillies could definitely use another pitcher in their starting rotation.
Typically, the Phillies pitching staff's been a major strength in recent years.
But now heading into 2026, it's really just Christopher Sanchez and Jess Luzardo as their only two truly reliable arms in their starting rotation.
Aaron Nola was not good at all in 2025.
I'm not sure how much they can rely on Tywan Walker.
Andrew Painter is their top prospect, but he has never even pitched in the Major League level at this point.
So they could look to add another option maybe via trade.
There's not many options available for free agency.
Dave Dombrock has already said that Lucas Giolito and Zach Eitel are not fits for the team.
So maybe they can look for a sleep on the trade market, and MLB Trade Rumors actually floated an interesting option for Philadelphia, and that's Giants pitcher Hayden Birdsong.
Now, Birdsong only has two years of Major League experience, 137 innings.
He's floated back and forth between the bullpen and the starting rotation.
He struggled as a starter.
You know, he had a 475 ERA in 2024, and this past year as a starter, an ERA of over six.
He was at a 2.31 ERA in the bullpen for the Giants in 2025, but definitely has not found his way in the starting rotation, much of that's because he has control issues, but he's a major strikeout guy.
He averaged-- He had 88 strikeouts in 72 innings in 2024, and last year also averaged over a strikeout per inning, and his minor league career averaged well over 12 strikeouts per nine frames.
So this is definitely an intriguing option for Philadelphia.
He might get cut out of the Giants rotation going into the season.
You know, definitely, you know, I, I wouldn't even say it's a risk, but I would say a low risk, potentially high reward option for Philadelphia here, because I can't imagine he'd be that expensive from the Giants considering how much he struggled as a starting pitcher.
You know, may-maybe the Phillies can fix him and, and because they've done a great job with pitchers in the past.
Maybe they can fix him, put him in the starting rotation, and have him become a, a strikeout artist for them in 2026 and maybe even beyond.
He's still just 24 years old, a lot of potential there.
I definitely think he could be an option for Philadelphia if they decide to go out and get another pitcher before the season begins or maybe early on in the season if they realize they definitely need some more depth.
