Giants demote Adrian Houser to bullpen despite his objections

MIAMI — With Tyler Mahle’s pending return to the rotation, the Giants faced a coming logjam of starting pitchers.The odd man out, despite his objections: Adrian Houser.“I mean, I’m not going to be happy with it, but I understand,” Houser told The California Post after manager Tony Vitello delivered the tough news Saturday.

“I signed here to be a starter.I didn’t sign here to be in the bullpen.”Yet, that is precisely where the 33-year-old right-hander will find himself only three months into his Giants tenure, at least for the time being.

In 14 starts, Houser was 2-6 with a 5.73 ERA with a 1.573 WHIP, the highest of his career and the third-worst mark of any starter with at least as many innings.“He wants the same thing as everybody else,” Vitello said.“He wants to do better.”Houser, in particular, has struggled against lefties and in the first inning.

Left-handed hitters are responsible for nine of the 12 home runs Houser has allowed while batting .339 with a 1.042 OPS, compared to right-handers’ .218 average and .540 OPS.In his last start, Houser served up a 473-foot home run to Drake Baldwin in the first inning, raising his ERA in the first frame to 9.64.His ERA in the fifth, when the lineup typically turns over for a third time, swells to 12.46.

But in between, he owns a 2.79 mark.“He’s really found a rhythm in the middle of outings,” Vitello said.“The first inning has given him trouble.

Third time through the order has given him trouble.Those are things he’s done well before in the past.”That track record, most recently featuring a 3.31 ERA in 21 starts last season for the Rays and White Sox, led president of baseball operations Buster Posey to award Houser a two-year, $22 million contract to round out their starting rotation with Mahle, another free-agent addition.Mahle hasn’t been any better — 1-7 with a 6.04 ERA in 11 starts — but could be a trade piece at the deadline.

He is only under contract for the rest o...