Hayden Birdsong’s demotion combined with Justin Verlander’s inconsistency highlight the team’s need for major-league rotation depth as the July 31 trade deadline looms. It’s an issue that has been brewing since the team sent Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Rafael Devers.

Instead, Birdsong hit his nadir. He faced six batters and recorded no outs. He threw 25 pitches but landed only six strikes. He surrendered one hit but allowed five runs due to four walks and a hit-by-pitch.

Birdsong’s demotion now leaves the rotation as Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, Landen Roupp and others. Webb and Ray were both All-Stars, but they’re both coming off nightmare starts, and they’ve struggled more recently than they previously had all season.

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The SF Giants demoted Hayden Birdsong after his disastrous start on Monday against the Atlanta Braves. He leaves a hole in the starting rotation that may end up

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Giants in Monday’s series opener against the Braves at Truist Park. San Francisco fell, 9-5, against a struggling Braves team and the Giants are enduring a season-long six-game losing streak.

With Hayden Birdsong's demotion, it’s clear the Giants have had enough of the rotation’s struggles and are moving in a different direction.