The San Francisco Giants run of brutal pitcher injuries has, unfortunately, continued. During Monday’s win over the Minnesota Twins, starter Blade Tidwell left the game with elbow soreness. That usually means one very bad thing and, unfortunately, Tuesday’s news does nothing to dispute that. Prior to the second game of the series, the Giants placed Tidwell on the 15-Day Injured List with a UCL sprain.
That obviously ends Tidwell’s season, but the bigger issue is that it will likely end his 2027 season, as well.
A UCL sprain usually means Tommy John surgery, which would put Tidwell in line to return to the mound shortly before 2028 Spring Training.
According to Tidwell, it was a “high grade” sprain, which certainly doesn’t lend itself to optimism. The righty is scheduled to meet with a specialist today, and could seek a second opinion. But unfortunately, pretty much all roads lead to Tommy John at this point.
If that ends up being the case, Tidwell will join Carson Whisenhunt, Trevor McDonald, and Hayden Birdsong as Giants starters to need Tommy John this surgery, after reliever Randy Rodríguez had the operation late last year.
Taking Tidwell’s spot on the roster is reliever Braxton Roxby, who has been called up from AAA Sacramento. Roxby made his MLB debut in late August and pitched in two games for San Francisco, giving up four hits, no walks, and two runs in two innings, with two strikeouts. He’s auditioning for a spot in next year’s bullpen, which really means he’s auditioning for the right to remain on the roster through the offseason.
The Giants likely have another set of moves incoming, as they announced on Tuesday that Landen Roupp’s season is over. Roupp said that he is healthy, but since the Giants have nothing to play for and he’s already set a career high in innings, there’s no need for him to take the mound one last time.
San Francisco has three rostered pitchers in the Minor Leagues that they can call up, presuming Roupp is placed on the IL: Ryan Walker and Seth Lonsway in AAA, and Miguel Mendez in AA. They also could add southpaw Joe Whitman to the roster for his MLB debut, if they’re planning on protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft.
