Overlooked relief arm could be the key to SF Giants bullpen success

The SF Giants enter 2026 with their bullpen a little bit up in the air. They made some modest additions, but a lot is still uncertain with pitchers and catchers reporting to Scottsdale in just a few weeks.

The Giants seem to be banking on a number of things. They are hoping that Sam Hentges and Erik Miller will be their old selves coming off injury. They also may have to hope Ryan Walker can figure it out at closer, a role he said he is looking to earn.

One bullpen arm who tends to get lost in the shuffle is right-handed reliever José Buttó who was acquired in a trade with the New York Mets last season.

SF Giants have a forgotten bullpen arm in José Buttó

Buttó came to the Giants in the trade that sent Tyler Rogers to the Mets. He was seen as a solid reliever who could be something of a replacement for Rogers in the late innings, but he struggled a bit after joining the Giants.

In 21 appearances with San Francisco he had a 4.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 10 walks in 20 innings of work.

Despite that less-than-stellar stint with the Giants, he will come into 2026 with as good a chance as anyone to stake a claim to the seventh or eighth inning.

The bullpen competition figures to be pretty wide open for the Giants and there will probably be a lot of fluidity in spring training and early in the regular season as the coaching staff tries to figure out which pieces will fit best.

Buttó is a guy who seems like he could be a solid option in the sixth or seventh inning. Maybe in a perfect world he can establish himself as the seventh inning guy, Miller can be the eighth inning man, and Walker can recapture his form from 2024 and be a solid closer.

That would not be quite as good as the Randy Rodríguez, Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval trio they had to close out games last season, but it would at least give them some stability late in games.

Buttó is just one year removed from putting up a 2.55 ERA in 74 innings with the Mets in 2024. He was stretched out more that season and used more as a long reliever so the Giants could potentially use him in that capacity as well.

Walker and Miller are who get most of the attention when thinking about San Francisco's 2026 bullpen, but Buttó should not be slept on.