The San Francisco Giants won’t be pleased to learn that José Butto’s recovery could take more than eight weeks, a tough blow for a bullpen that was expected to take a step forward this year. With a blood clot involved, the situation has to be handled with caution.
The update came from Alex Pavlovic on X (@PavlovicNBCS): “The Giants announced that Jose Butto’s surgery to remove a blood clot went well. He’ll be out 2-4 months.” It may not be the most devastating loss for the bullpen, but given the expectations surrounding him, it’s still a difficult development for fans to absorb.
During spring training, Butto posted a 2.25 ERA over 4.0 innings pitched. Baseball Reference projected him for a 3.63 ERA across 69 innings this MLB season, surpassing the 67 innings he logged in 2025 between the New York Mets and Giants.
Another option for the Giants
While Butto begins a lengthy recovery process, the Giants have already called up Blade Tidwell from Triple-A. He has delivered solid early results in limited action, posting a 0.00 ERA across three innings in a single appearance.
Blade Tidwell's outing vs the Mets pic.twitter.com/3b0xqdgf0q
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 3, 2026
Tidwell could provide another arm for the bullpen. He also saw action with the Mets in 2025, his debut season, appearing in four games, including two starts, and finishing with a 9.00 ERA over 15 innings in limited opportunities in New York.
“It was very exciting. Actually, I didn’t know it was a save, so (Giants catcher Daniel) Susac was handing me the ball after the game, and I was like, ‘why are you handing me the ball?’ And he was like, ‘that’s a save.’ And I said we’re up by five, but it was nice,” Tidwell told KNBR after recording his first save as a reliever.
