Giants place Buttó (right arm fatigue) on 15-day IL, recall Tidwell

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants will be without the services of right-hander José Buttó for the foreseeable future, as he was placed on the 15-day injured list with right arm fatigue on Thursday.

The 28-year-old exited Wednesday’s loss to the Padres in San Diego with what the team initially called right elbow soreness.

Entering in the bottom of the eighth inning with the Giants down, 3-1, Buttó only recorded one out, allowing four runs on three hits and four walks on 28 pitches.

His velocity was also notably down, with his sinker averaging 91.5 mph, markedly lower than his season average of 93.8 mph.

Before breaking camp with the Giants, Buttó appeared in five games with Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings.

"Looking back on it, I think he had an opportunity to maybe communicate some stuff to us, and we also had an opportunity to see things a little quicker,” said manager Tony Vitello regarding Buttó's injury before Thursday's series opener against the Mets. “Other than that, I feel like we're in a decent spot, because he's had some issues he's familiar with before.”

Vitello was optimistic that Buttó wouldn’t be out an extended period of time, reiterating that the issue is “general arm fatigue” rather than a specific elbow or shoulder situation.

"I don't think there's only one isolated spot,” said Vitello.

The Giants recalled right-hander Blade Tidwell from Triple-A Sacramento to take Buttó's spot on the 26-man roster.

Tidwell, 24, was acquired from the Mets alongside Buttó in the Tyler Rogers trade last July after appearing in four games (two starts) with New York and 17 games (14 starts) with Triple-A Syracuse.

After the trade, Tidwell (the Giants’ No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline) appeared in four games (three starts) with Triple-A Sacramento, logging a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings.

Thus far in 2026, Tidwell made one start for the River Cats, striking out three in 2 2/3 scoreless innings, following five Spring Training outings in which he allowed seven earned runs in 6 2/3 innings (with 13 strikeouts).

In the Giants’ bullpen, Tidwell is “probably suited to come in and get three outs for us,” according to Vitello, who characterised Tidwell in the same camp as other “swing guys” on the roster, Carson Seymour and No. 16 prospect Trevor McDonald, who is currently with Triple-A.

Tidwell expressed his excitement about being back in the Majors for the first time since July 2 with the Mets.

"It's awesome,” Tidwell said. “Everyone wants to play in the big leagues, and it's great to be here. It's a little extra special because Tony was my manager in college [at the University of Tennessee], so we've got a good group of guys.”

Tidwell logged time with Keaton Winn on the River Cats’ staff after coming over from New York and again into the early portion of this season. He’s paid attention to the opportunity Winn’s received so far in 2026, posting three scoreless innings in as many appearances out of the bullpen, and sounded like he’s ready for the challenge himself.

"I've watched Keaton's outings – every game, I've watched, actually," Tidwell said. "I think Keaton's got great stuff. He's been throwing the ball well, so you can go out there and have success at this level."

Devers back at first base soon?
Rafael Devers has started all six Giants games this season at designated hitter, but Vitello indicated the slugger could very well make his season debut at first base at the start of the next homestand, which begins April 21 against the rival Dodgers.

“I would think, at the very least by the time we’re back here,” said Vitello when asked about Devers’ potential return to first base after the Giants’ options at the position were brought to the forefront when Casey Schmitt missed two throws from third baseman Matt Chapman in Wednesday’s loss, leading to two unearned runs.