Giants Stash Rehab Project Rowan Wick on 60-Day IL, Eye 2027 Payoff

The Giants’ latest bullpen addition is headed to the injured list before he throws a pitch for them — exactly as planned. San Francisco transferred right-hander Rowan Wick to the 60-day injured list with an elbow injury, formalizing what team officials knew when they signed him: The 33-year-old reliever is expected to miss the entire 2026 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November. The move, noted Sunday in multiple transaction logs and first detailed locally by The San Jose Mercury News, clears 40-man roster flexibility while the club waits to see if Wick can become a late-inning option in 2027. Wick agreed to a one-year major league deal earlier this spring that includes a club option for 2027, according to MLB.com and team announcements. Financial terms have not been disclosed, but the structure mirrors a strategy the Giants have leaned into for several offseasons — guaranteeing a rehab year now in hopes of landing a healthy, high-leverage arm later at below-market cost. By placing Wick on the 60-day IL, San Francisco can backfill his roster spot during a season in which he was never expected to take the mound. The bet is rooted in what Wick did most recently in Japan, not in the majors. After last pitching in the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs in 2022, the right-hander rebuilt his value in Nippon Professional Baseball, where he emerged as one of the league’s stingiest relievers. In 2025, he went 4–1 with a 0.84 ERA and 1.39 FIP over 42 2/3 innings, allowing just 5.3 hits and 2.3 walks per nine innings, posting a 0.844 WHIP, and not surrendering a single home run while converting five saves. Across his most recent NPB season cited by multiple outlets, he also logged a 1.13 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a 58:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 47 2/3 innings, numbers that caught the eye of a Giants front office hungry for swing-and-miss relief. Even before his stint in Japan, Wick showed flashes of late-game utility in Chicago. Over parts of four seasons with the Cubs from 2018 to 2022, he logged a 3.66 ERA in 146 1/3 big league innings, with 11 saves and nearly a strikeout per inning. His 2019 and 2020 campaigns — a combined 2.66 ERA across 50 appearances — hinted at setup or even closing potential when healthy. Tommy John surgery halted that trajectory, but it also made him a classic San Francisco target: a pitcher with a track record of missing bats and just enough injury risk to depress his price. Wick’s IL placement fits into a broader pattern. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the Giants previously transferred right-hander Jason Foley — another reliever rehabbing from right shoulder surgery — to the 60-day IL. They also signed left-hander Sam Hentges, who has not pitched since 2024 while recovering from shoulder and knee surgeries, with an eye toward getting him back on a competitive timetable this season. For president of baseball operations Buster Posey and his front office, loading up on injured but talented arms is a way to buy future bullpen innings at a discount, even as the current group leans heavily on healthy options like closer Camilo Doval and right-handers such as Tyler Rogers. For now, Wick’s impact is purely theoretical. The club will monitor his Tommy John rehab throughout the year before deciding this winter whether to exercise the 2027 option. If his recovery stays on schedule and the stuff he flashed in Japan returns — particularly a fastball that plays up in short bursts and a breaking ball that missed bats overseas — the Giants could open next season with an experienced, low-cost late-inning option. If not, the transaction will be remembered as a low-risk flier that cost little more than a roster slot in a season when he was never penciled in to pitch.