Giants place red-hot rookie Susac on IL with elbow injury

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants' capricious offense will be without one of its more consistent contributors for the time being, as the club announced Tuesday that Daniel Susac is expected to miss two to three weeks after landing on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Monday) with right elbow ulnar neuritis.

In the corresponding move, the Giants have selected veteran backstop Eric Haase from Triple-A Sacramento and transferred righty José Buttó (right arm surgery) to the 60-day IL.

Susac had considerably expanded his role as Patrick Bailey's backup with his unexpected production; through Sunday, he had gone 11-for-23 (.478) with five RBIs to begin his Major League career. His hot start had also served to offset Bailey's miserable one (8-for-53, 0 XBH, 1 RBI).

Manager Tony Vitello said Susac began to experience soreness in his throwing arm during the Giants’ series in Washington this past weekend, though the club is optimistic the injury won’t set him back too much in the long run.

“I think overall the diagnosis was pretty positive,” Vitello said before Tuesday night’s series opener against the Dodgers at Oracle Park. “Would we like to have him in there at some point? Yes. But is it devastating? I don't think that's necessarily the case, in particular with the opportunity that it provides to Haase, who's been playing really well down there.

“Unfortunately, it's kind of at the expense, for lack of a better way to say it, of an injury, but it's one that Susac will be able to watch. He'll be fresh, he'll come back, and I think he'll pick up where he left off.”

Haase, 33, appeared in just 30 games for the Brewers in both 2024 and 2025 and is a career .228/.278/.396 hitter across eight MLB seasons. The majority of his big league experience came with the Tigers from 2021-23, with whom he had his eye-catching 2021 rookie season in which he recorded 22 home runs and 61 RBIs (98 games).

The Giants also have catching prospect Jesus Rodriguez (No. 18) on their 40-man roster, but they ultimately preferred to call up a more seasoned option in Haase, who joined the club on a Minor League deal over the offseason.

Rodriguez, 23, entered Tuesday batting .344 with a .900 OPS, two home runs and nine RBIs over 15 games with Sacramento this year, but he still doesn’t have a ton of catching reps in the upper Minors. Haase is expected to serve as Bailey’s backup, so the Giants preferred to have Rodriguez continue to get regular reps in Sacramento for now.

“We have two good options,” Vitello said. “It would be nice to have a very clear, no question, slam-dunk option. But it is a positive to have multiple options in different situations. If anything, it provides internal competitiveness, and I think we have that going on. But long story short, J-Rod’s time is coming at some point. We know he'll be prepared. I don't think he'll bat an eye at the bright lights or anything else you want to label all this. When his time comes, it'll be exciting. But for now, I think it was good to reunite with Haase. And here's to Susac making a quick recovery.”

Buttó was a member of the Giants’ Opening Day bullpen, but he appeared in only three games before landing on the IL with arm trouble. He recently underwent a second surgery to remove a blood clot from his upper right arm, which could rule him out for the rest of the 2026 campaign.