Reliever's injury may force bullpen reshuffle earlier than SF Giants were expecting

The SF Giants lost a tough game to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday and while it seems like first baseman Casey Schmitt may have had the roughest day of anyone on the team given his defensive struggles, that honor may go to reliever José Buttó who had a really bad outing.

Buttó came in to pitch the eighth inning with the Giants down just two runs and still in the game, but he was just totally out of whack as he gave up four earned runs on four walks and three hits. His velocity was down with his fastball and he ended up leaving the game with right elbow tightness.

It is obviously never good news when a pitcher is dealing with tightness in their throwing arm. The Giants should learn more about his injury today as they return to San Francisco, but it seems like there is a decent chance that Buttó will end up spending time on the IL.

SF Giants may have to replace Buttó with another right-handed relief arm

Buttó did participate in the World Baseball Classic and pitched quite well for Team Venezuela on its way to a title. He pitched 5 and 2/3 innings in the WBC and did not allow a run. Maybe his arm is a bit fatigued from participating in the event.

No matter what the cause, the Giants may now have to reshuffle the deck in the bullpen earlier than they were anticipating. There were inevitably going to be moves made especially with Joel Peguero and Sam Hentges on the 15-day IL and possible to return at some point later this month although maybe the Giants will choose to be patient with them.

But now the Giants may have to promote someone to take Buttó's place if he does have to spend time on the shelf.

Probably the most likely candidate is Spencer Bivens. He was a bit of a surprising exclusion from the Opening Day roster since he has been a really reliable arm for the Giants the last two seasons.

Some other candidates include Tristan Beck who has been a decent arm for the Giants the last few seasons. Veteran Michael Fulmer is another possibility as he had a strong showing in spring training and would be an experienced arm to have in the bullpen.

Beck and Bivens are likelier than Fulmer just because they are already on the 40-man roster while Fulmer is not so the Giants would have to make a corresponding move if they promoted him.

Some amount of turnover in the bullpen was to be expected with how wide open the competition was amongst relievers in camp. Obviously, you never want injuries to force your hand, but the Giants may now have to shake things up if Buttó ends up on the IL.