Bryce Eldridge didn’t make the Giants’ Opening Day roster.
The club’s top prospect was optioned to Triple-A on Thursday along with two other cuts that left 42 players still in major-league camp with San Francisco.
Eldridge, 21, was considered a serious option for the Opening Day roster despite his age and lack of experience due to his advanced approach at the plate and raw power.
However, the 6-foot-7 slugger entered the spring with questions about his defensive abilities at first base, a position he only picked up after the Giants drafted him 16th overall in 2023.
Look no further than Eldridge’s playing time this spring for how seriously the Giants were considering breaking camp with him. Only two players logged more at-bats.
Eldridge made some of the hardest contact of anyone in the Cactus League but struck out in 19 of his 49 plate appearances (38.7%). He ended spring batting .225 (9-for-40) in 19 games with one homer, one triple and four doubles but admitted to not feeling comfortable in the box toward the end of camp.
“For him overall to look dangerous and comfortable at the same time is something that we’re all analyzing from over here probably even more so than the result,” manager Tony Vitello said Thursday afternoon before the decision had been made public. “I think he has found that at times. It’s a matter of it being consistent. Part of that just comes from reps.”
Eldridge wasn’t likely to get many defensive reps at the big-league level with Rafael Devers expected to handle first base. He will get an opportunity to get everyday reps in the field and at the plate to start the season with Triple-A Sacramento.
The Giants, meanwhile, will be able to time Eldridge’s call-up when he is feeling better at the plate. In the meantime, the roster move opens the door for players such as Luis Matos and Jerar Encarnacion, who have put together strong springs but are out of options.
Eldridge has played 84 games above Double-A, including 10 at the major-league level at the end of last season. He recorded three hits in 28 at-bats and is still seeking his first big-league home run.
In three minor-league seasons, Eldridge has 56 home runs, a .275 batting average and an .861 OPS. It didn’t take long for the hype train to leave the station after he began posting elite exit velocities in complex-league games shortly after being drafted as an 18-year-old high schooler. Eldridge emerged as one of the top prospects in all of baseball in 2024 as he climbed through four minor-league levels.
Now the consensus top prospect in the Giants’ farm system, Eldridge was rated the No. 25 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline and No. 18 in Baseball America’s Top 100 entering this spring.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
