The SF Giants made one change to their roster ahead of Thursday’s game, placing Randy Rodríguez on the injured list due to elbow inflammation and bringing back rookie relief pitcher Spencer Bivens, according to the team’s transaction log.

The Giants hope Rodríguez’s injury isn’t too serious, but elbow issues are a concern. The hard-throwing pitcher has handled a relatively heavy workload in 2024. Overall, he’s thrown 61 innings, including his outing with Sacramento, which is just shy of his career-high of 70 innings with three teams last season.

However, Rodríguez often had to cover multiple innings in his appearances. For example, just last week he completed 2.2 innings with 56 pitches in an 11-5 loss to the Washington Nationals.

The 24-year-old pitcher is having a good rookie season and his pitching performance likely earned him a spot in the 2025 bullpen. It should be noted that Rodríguez will enter next season with no minor league options remaining, so that should work in his favor.

Rodríguez has posted a 3.93 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 1.19 WHIP, 9.3 K/9 and 3.25 SO/W rate in 33 appearances for San Francisco this season. Control has been an issue for Rodríguez since turning pro, but he has shown some improvement this season.

Spencer Bivens will take Rodríguez’s place on the 40-man roster. It’s been a tumultuous season for Bivens. He didn’t have an invitation to training camp in the spring, but later received one after impressing the coaching staff in bullpens and games while on loan from minor league training camp.

Since then, Bivens has been named the Pacific Coast League’s Pitcher of the Month for May and has been called up to the Giants’ bullpen, and he’s done a good job.

The 30-year-old pitcher has posted a 1.90 ERA, 5.20 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 7.2 K/9 and 3.17 SO/W rate in 12 games. He has leaned a bit toward the longball, allowing five home runs in 23.2 innings. Much like Rodríguez, Bivens has a good chance of being a cog in the bullpen this season and beyond.