Spencer Bivens (born June 28, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Amateur career

Bivens played high school baseball at State College Area High School in his hometown of State College, Pennsylvania. After graduating, Bivens enrolled in Louisburg College, pitching to a 3.14 ERA as a sophomore in 2014. He transferred to

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 2015, his dream school from growing up. Before he could pitch for their baseball team, he failed a drug test, causing him to lose his spot on the team. Two years later he transferred to Rogers State University. Bivens would pitch the next two seasons for the team, recording a 3.21 ERA in 27 appearances. Following the conclusion of his senior season, he played for a time with the Lemont Ducks of the Centre County Baseball League, an amateur league near State College.

Professional career

Lions de Savigny-sur-Orge

Bivens was not selected in the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

, and signed with the of the

Division Élite The Division Élite is the highest level of Baseball in France. Its clubs compete for the Championnat de France de baseball. Organization It is an eight-team league that plays a 28-game schedule on weekends, with the season running from late Mar ...

, a French independent league. In 75 innings pitched, he recorded a 2.51 ERA.

Steel City Slammin' Sammies

On February 18, 2020, Bivens signed with the Kotlářka Praha of the

Czech Baseball Extraliga Czech Baseball Extraliga is a baseball league and the highest level of baseball in the Czech Republic. The league started in 1979, when Tempo Praha won the first championship. In 2020, the Extraliga was one of the first sports leagues in Europe, ...

. However, he was unable to play for the team after their season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bivens later signed with the Steel City Slammin' Sammies of the newly–formed Washington League. In 6 games (3 starts), he posted a 3–2 record and 3.74 ERA with 19 strikeouts across innings pitched.

Washington Wild Things

On October 13, 2020, Bivens signed with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League. In nine appearances for Washington, he struggled to a 7.24 ERA with 10 strikeouts across innings pitched. On July 7, 2021, Bivens was released by the Wild Things.

West Virginia Power

On July 8, 2021, Bivens signed with the West Virginia Power of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In three contests, he posted a 10.50 ERA with seven strikeouts across six innings of work.

Gastonia Honey Hunters

On July 19, 2021, Bivens was traded to the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the

in exchange for Alexis Candelario. In 14 starts for Gastonia, he compiled a 4–8 record and 7.26 ERA with 62 strikeouts across innings pitched. In 2022, Bivens made three scoreless appearances for the Honey Hunters, striking out nine across innings.

San Francisco Giants

On May 25, 2022, Bivens signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants organization. He split the remainder of the season between the Single–A San Jose Giants and Triple–A Sacramento River Cats. In 27 appearances for the two affiliates, Bivens accumulated a 3.95 ERA with 48 strikeouts across innings. Bivens began the 2023 season with the High–A Eugene Emeralds, and was promoted to the Double–A Richmond Flying Squirrels after six games. In 27 appearances for Richmond, he registered a 5–4 record and 3.69 ERA with 72 strikeouts across 78 innings pitched. Bivens was invited to major league

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2024. He began the year with Triple–A Sacramento, recording a 2.81 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 8 saves across 21 games. Bivens was named the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

pitcher of the month for the month of May. On June 16, 2024, Bivens was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bivens, Spencer 1994 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in France Baseball players from Virginia Beach, Virginia Eugene Emeralds players Gastonia Honey Hunters players Louisburg Hurricanes baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Pennsylvania State University alumni Richmond Flying Squirrels players Rogers State Hillcats baseball players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Scottsdale Scorpions players State College Area High School alumni Tomateros de Culiacán players Washington Wild Things players West Virginia Power players African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico