Giants recall Gregory Santos from Sacramento for bullpen help

Gregory Santos was the bullpen answer San Francisco reached for when the innings started to pile up. The Giants selected the right-hander from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday and brought him into the active roster for Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, a move built around function as much as talent: San Francisco needed another strike-throwing arm after eight straight days of games, and Santos had been getting the ball in Sacramento.

To make it work, the Giants had to clear space on a full 40-man roster. Blade Tidwell went back to Triple-A Sacramento after a month in the majors, and Jared Oliva was transferred to the 60-day injured list as part of the same transaction package. Tidwell handled his stint reasonably well, posting a 3.00 ERA with 10 strikeouts and three walks in 12 innings across eight appearances, but the Giants still chose to reset the bullpen picture with a different look.

Santos’ Sacramento line explains the appeal. In 2026, he made eight appearances for the River Cats, worked 11 innings and posted a 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and six strikeouts. That is not a pure bat-missing profile, but it does show a pitcher limiting traffic and getting through innings cleanly, which matters when a bullpen is being asked to cover game after game without much recovery time. Santos also arrived with a sinker-and-slider mix, a pairing that can keep the ball on the ground and give a manager a quick way out of a jam.

The Giants also know Santos has done this before. This was his second stint with San Francisco after he debuted on April 22, 2021, and his major-league resume already included 81 games, a 4.17 ERA, 77 strikeouts, 10 holds and five saves before this call-up. That history says the club is not just chasing arm strength. It is leaning on a pitcher who has already worked in leverage and can be slotted into the middle innings without requiring a long audition.

Santos’ path has been a long one. He originally signed with Boston as an international free agent in 2015, was traded to San Francisco in 2017, and later resurfaced with the Giants on a minor-league deal after pitching for Seattle in 2024-25. Now he is back with a clear job: help San Francisco survive the grind and stabilize a relief corps that needed another reliable right hand.