Giants fans have spent much of the season wondering whether slugging top prospect Bryce Eldridge might make his MLB debut at some point this summer. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote earlier in the week that it’s “more likely” the 20-year-old will finish out the season in Triple-A and hope for his first call to the majors in 2026. President of baseball operations Buster Posey removed further doubt the following day when telling John Shea of the San Francisco Standard that his team would “most likely not” promote Eldridge for his big league debut before season’s end.
That may be disappointing for San Francisco fans who’ve been hoping that an Eldridge promotion would give them extra incentive to stay tuned in to a season that has largely slipped away. There are justifiable reasons to hold off, however. The Giants have been breaking June acquisition Rafael Devers in at first base, and Eldridge has been slumping recently in Sacramento.
Eldridge, a 2023 first-rounder, is widely regarded as one of the sport’s top 25 or so prospects. He hit .280/.350/.512 with seven homers in 140 Double-A plate appearances but has cooled after a hot start in Triple-A. He’s still slashing a respectable .241/.311/.513 with 15 homers in 219 plate appearances since moving to the top minor league level, but Eldridge is hitting .203/.280/.419 over the past three weeks. He’s also struck out in 32% of his Triple-A plate appearances.
Beyond Devers’ transition to first base and Eldridge’s recent struggles, there are other elements to consider. The Giants aren’t contending for a postseason spot at this point — barring a miracle Wild Card run — and Eldridge wouldn’t be eligible to be poached by another club in the Rule 5 Draft until 2027. He’ll be added well before then — early next year, in all likelihood — but delaying his promotion until 2026 effectively gives the Giants an extra 40-man roster spot they can utilize in the offseason. He can then be selected to the roster next year when the Giants have the 60-day IL available to open roster space, whether that be in spring training or early in the year. (There’s no 60-day injured list in the offseason.)
The Devers acquisition and his subsequent move to first base clearly placed a roadblock to Eldridge eventually becoming the everyday first baseman at Oracle Park. However, Eldridge told Slusser that vice president of player development Randy Winn called him quickly after the trade to reassure him that he’s still a big part of the team’s long-term plans.
“Natural human instinct is going to be, ‘Well, that’s my position,’ but they’re paying that guy a lot of money,” Eldridge said. “But Randy reassured me that they like me and they like the progress I’ve made, they see me in their plans, playing first or DH, wherever it may be. It doesn’t necessarily matter to me too much where I’m at, I just want to be a part of helping that team win.”
When Eldridge is ready, Devers will be the DH. No worries.
more likely they split time
They also don’t want to burn an option year, or accelerate him into arbitration, obviously.
True and if they bring him up at the beginning of next year and he does well enough they can get an extra pick.
Devers is not hitting when he plays First Base. In 64 AB’s he has .172/.254/.313 slash line with 25 strike outs. His future is as a DH. Eldridge at First Base and Chapman at 3B
It would be funny if he sours on the giants because they’re moving him around from DH to first
Not to burst your bubble but he’s happy as hell to be a Giant. Better front office treatment here and most importantly much better manager than Cora. Melvin is a good communicator and really cares about his players. Cora has always been a little sleezy over the years. Not much character and players have seen it for quite awhile. Just my opinion though.
I’m not too terribly concerned about those numbes for this year.
He’s learning a new position, and getting back into the flow of playing the field and hitting – although he wasn’t too long remove from that.
Once he gets more comfortable over there I’m sure those numbers improve.
Now if he’s hitting like that after ~100 or so ABs next year, sure I’ll start ringing the alarm bells.
64 ABs is a very small sample, basically 16 games. That’s not enough to be drawing any firm conclusions. He and Eldridge will split time at 1B. Eldridge isn’t playing 162 games there.
64 AB’s is a pretty small sample size. Devers had an awful start to his time as a DH in Boston before getting back to his normal self.
It’s also worth noting that Devers has posted (in a small 16 game sample) 0 DRS and 1 OAA at first for the Giants. That’s by no means a great performance on D, yet for Devers, it kind of is. He’s been serviceable on defense, which is something rarely said of him.
Not sure what Eldridge did on defense this season, but in 2024, he was quite bad at first. I could see the DH and 1B being either/or depending on who’s better on D.
Either way, having those two bats in the lineup should help SF go farther next year.
Man that trade is looking bad for SF
Devers just got put into freaking oracle park marine air confines of course he isn’t going to hit like he’s in Fenway
To understand how hard it is to hit there just look at that baseball bat bros video where they could barely hit over right field
Yeah, thank God the Red Sox got reliever with an era north of 6, a minor league starter who can’t crack their rotation despite a desperate need for a 5th starter, and an OF prospect they turned into a starter who is only controlled for this year and has an era of 4.50.
Meanwhile, Devers has an Ops+ of 128 for the Giants.
But yeah, bad trade for SF.
“Yeah thank God the Red Sox”…The two team’s playing fortunes accurately describe the effect the trade has had on each.
The Red Sox are solidly in contention, while the S.F Giants have already packed it in and begun getting ready for next year.
Mlbfan: The trade probably released some tension in Boston and they’re playing better because of it. As far as the Giants slide since getting Devers it’s a team wide collapse. Had nothing to do with acquiring Devers. The Giants are easily a better team with him and will be even better in 2026. He flat out mashes the ball which is exactly why Buster acquired him. And the Giants have not packed anything in. They just won their series with Milwaukie on the road and have already won their series with the Cubs with a chance at a sweep today. That is far from packing it in.
There’s the forever faithful Giants fan that I came here for. Thank you.
“The trade probably released”…No doubt, yes. I’m actually a big fan of proven run producers like Raffy Devers. The only thing I like better than proven run producers, is young, cheap, uber-athletic, all around players.
Trading Rafael Devers allowed the Red Sox to reallocate financial resources and put the emphasis back on young, controllable, all around athletes. This “reset” move benefits their team both short and long-term.
MLB – who did the Red Sox reinvest Devers salary for 2025 into?
Don’t you even say Roman Anthony, because he’s dirt cheap for the next five or six years. There might be a year or two at the end of Devers deal where they would have overlapped but there’s so few financial commitments that far out that it’s irrelevant.
“Who did the Red Sox reinvest”…I never said just the ’25 salary, you did.
And you may have noticed, the Rsox have signed several young players to long term extensions the last 2-3 yrs.
Just pick one and that’s the Raffy money being reallocated on more versatile, team oriented and young players.
A guy that has a bad attitude and will only function as a DH long term. Have fun with your over paid DH.
Who do you expect them to “invest in” mid season?
You forgot to say that Devers “had” a bad attitude when he was with the Red Sox organization. As I’ve said before, the Giants organization is much more player friendly than Boston by far. Also take the lack of character by Cora at times versus Melvin and his staff who have great character. Those factors sure have been instrumental in lots of smiling by the Giants slugger. Can’t comment on the remainder of Boston’s coaches
If there was any truth to devers no showing for 1b practice the first couple times than I’d say it’s a him problem
MLB – here is a direct quote from you.
“Trading Rafael Devers allowed the Red Sox to reallocate financial resources and put the emphasis back on young, controllable, all around athletes. This “reset” move benefits their team both short and long-term.”
The extensions to young guys literally have no affect on Devers deal. The young guys extensions buy out their arbitration years, and if the players went to arbitration instead of signing the extension they could have potentially made more money.
Give a concrete example because it doesn’t exist. Campbell and Anthony will actually make more money because of their extensions, instead of the near league minimum they would have made on their rookie deals.
Who do I expect thek to invest in? Not sure but they could have traded for someone and brought on salary.
It’s not my argument that “trading Devers allows the team to reallocate resources both short and long term”.
Thank God we’re watching our for John Henry’s pocketbook.
I love the whole “Devers has a bad attitude” argument by some fans.
They think the team did nothing wrong in handling the situation, and they clearly did. If they asked him in the beginning to play 1B, 3B, DH whatever then he would have! They thought they knew everything and told him that he will only DH and then they got in a situation where their lack of planning caused an emergency.
No one is blameless but devers is a child and deserved to get dumped.
LOL. They really let anyone comment here.
I stopped reading at 64 at-bats.
Ha ha. Sure.
I’m pretty happy with it. Love watching him. Feel good when he comes to the plate.
Dominate in AAA then get the call. Let him figure it out.
The Giants….What a miserable shiz show. Their low baseball info fans were posting here all summer about the ‘Playoffs’ despite the fact that the team only booked 1 month with a winning record ( April) this season. May, June, July, August all below .500………….Team has been a mess for a long time. They’ve only finished over .500 once since 2016
MLBTR comments try not to rip on the Giants for five minutes challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
there are a lot of reasons for that – you seem to be pretty low info yourself if all you are looking at is the record over that time and not the fact that you really need to look at the record since 2020 since that is when the team reset and they are not a losing team over that period, they are a middling team floating at .500
As a diehard fan I’m well aware of the stats I just think its funny how ridiculously targeted it feels sometimes for a team that isn’t even bad just kinda mid.
From my perspective I’ve already seen more championships in the 2010s run than a lot of fans will see in their lifetimes from their team so I’m good.
yeah I hear you on that – most teams don’t get a run like that but it has taken years of restructuring since then to get something that can pull out of the collapse after that . people seem to ignore the fact that maintaining that winning streak decimated the farm and left the team with a lot of bloated contracts keeping those guys over that stretch.
10-15 more years and Giants fans will sound like old Raiders fans talking about the glory years in the 1970s and early 1980s. Those 3 championships in 5 years were fun, but it’s 2025 now. You think Yankee fans are satisfied because they won a lot 20 years ago?
Himmy: Great reply. 3 World Series Championships in the past 15 seasons. Not a lot of teams have done that and lots and lots of fans haven’t experienced what we Giants fans have, not to mention the recent 107 win team. It’s great to be a forever San Francisco Giants fan
fred-3,
“10-15 more years and Giants fans will sound like old Raiders fans talking about the glory years…”
That’s kind of pathetic, that you have to look that far into the future, when neither you nor anyone else knows what will be, just to try and make a point to the negative.
@bag o ballz You are incorrect. Since 2020 the San Francisco Giants have absolutely been a losing team with the exception of 2021.
The organization posted losing record seasons in 2023 and 2024. And they are on their way to another losing season this year!
.500, .494, ..488, .483 in a short season – that is pretty much the definition of a mid team and lot a ‘losing team. going into the last few weeks (which is where they dropped below .500 in the years they did) they have been floating every year between a couple of games above and a game below .500 every year.
@bag o ballz
Let me break this down to you like I would explain it to a 7 year old:
Finishing the season below .500 is a LOSING season
Finishing the season above .500 is a WINNING Season
that is a stupid argument – so you are saying that last year the giants would have been a good team if they would have won the last game of the season but are instead a horrible team. that is complete dumbassery
it is also worth noting that in that 2020 short season they would have made the playoffs but for a series season against the reds who made it in with an identical record
or maybe people that constantly rag on giants fans because they are idiots are insufferable.
Padrejoe: So a team that finishes 80-82 vs a team that finishes 82-80 is a losing team and the team that finishes 82-80 is a winning team and 81-81 is neither. Those records are all mid teams. Maybe a team 10 games under is a losing team. I say you’re being a tad too technical.
Good. Go somewhere else then. Just curious who you root for?
Cal2,632, So I guess you’re perfectly good with non-fans of your team trolling articles about them, with nothing of real substance other than ad hominin attacks, just because they dislike your team.
I wouldn’t think of ever commenting on a Dodgers’, Padres’, or any other team’s articles with no greater insight than “your team sucks”. But some fans love the anonymity of the internet to express their worst instincts and do.
TBH, I find it kind of depressing seeing that side of people.
PadreJoe: 2 more victories and we’re winners again? They must have taken a different turn “on their way to another losing season”. Go back to your Padres, who by the way have had the Giants numbers this year. You have a lot to root for this year so far. Leave us Giants fans alone. Stick to the team you hopefully have more knowledge about.
some people think that baseball is the same as football and somehow 1 game changes how good or bad a team is and that is the narrative they rationalize in their head not understanding that 1 game is less than 1% of the season and a few games one way or the other doesn’t change the outlook of the team even if it can change whether or not a team gets into the playoffs. the guy doesn’t get that just under or just over .500 is nearly the same and both are just a mid performing team
Padrejomo: “finishing” hasn’t happened yet. We’re one game away from a winning team according to you. And the season is not “finished”
Yeah, those Giants’ fans are so stupid. Imagine any fan, when in mid-June their team is 11 games over .500 with a +46 run differential, actually thinking they have a chance at the PS.
Low-info is the perfect description of TheBull’s post. But I most admit that the user name is appropriate since he’s definitely full of it.
Sir, I’ve got the Colorado Rockies holding on line two.
They will return around November.
Some respect to Dom Smith for playing good 1B in the interim. Not the long-term answer, but he’s been one of the few steady bats during this slump.
“(There’s no 60-day injured list in the offseason.) ” !!
It’s absolutely amazing that EVERY PLAYER on the 60 day IL is magically cured/healed just after the World Series ends but that/those ailments somehow reappear JUST AFTER THE START OF THE FOLLOWING SEASON’S SPRING TRAINING.
Yet ANOTHER archaic MLB rule in need of review, revision and updating
Tell us how you really feel with more caps so we can laugh at you some more.
It’s not the fun outcome, but it’s the correct one.
I think another reason to wait is how valuable Dom Smith has been to the Giants since he has been acquired. He has come up with some hits already. He plays 1B too and his glove has also been really good. And he’s a great clubhouse presence including his friendship with Devers. I sure hope the Giants find away to keep him next year along with promoting Eldridge. Devers is improving on defense at 1B also. Dom Smith gives the Giants their best defensive lineup.
I would be surprised if dom smith was around next year. the way he has played there will probably be more than 1 team willing to give him a 2-3 year deal and I don’t see that in the card for the giants
Always a big fan of his, Dominic Smith may stand out as one of the best players the Giants acquired this season and has been a pleasure to watch. It’s a shame that he doesn’t fit into the Giants’ future, but some team is going to be glad that they signed him in the offseason.
Maybe Smith can be a pinch hitter/defensive replacement bench player next yesr with the Giants. Just don’t want to lose him.
Love to have him off the bench, but it seems like he can get a better opportunity somewhere else.
Good, he’s hitting .241 in the PCL. He’s still very young, and dom Smith has been acceptable this year at first. Let him show some extended success down there without an Uber aggressive promotion
Batting average doesn’t matter,. He hit a 470ft HR last night. He’s .not slumping, despite what the “author” of this “article” claims. He has 9 HRs and 27 RBIs THIS MONTH. He has 16 HRs and 54 RBIs in AAA overall. There’s no reason to keep him there. Get him a cup of coffee in the big leagues now, no pressure. Then he’ll be ready to roll opening day next season.
It does when it’s accompanied by a .314 OBP. His OPS is barely above league average. Recent hot streak or not, he isn’t ready. Dude can’t even drink yet, let him have some actual extended success. He’s barely over 100 games above high A ball
Nobody else on the team has an OPS above ..800 and he’s 20. As for “barely above league average,” you have a citation on that?. And even if I were to take that at face value, again he’s 20. The average age in the league is like 30 and he is better than them.
Marco Luciano has an ops of .801, Thomas Gavello has an ops of .990 in triple A, so you’re wrong. Yeah click on the league, it’s very ready to look up from here, it will also tell you the average age of the league so you don’t have to assume
Gavello is a part time player. Enjoy being pedantic and still wrong.
144 plate appearances in 36 games is a part time player? The fact that you ignored everything else i said even proves further you’re clueless
36 games played when they are currently playing game # 130? That’s not a part time player to you? Talk about CLUELESS! By the way, he isn’t in the lineup today. Because he is a part-time player. Oh, and you clearly you haven’t kept up because Luciano’s OPS is .797. Too bad so sad, not .800. If you want to be a pedantic that’s cool with me.
Slumping in Sacramento? What are you freaking talking about?
Really! Looks like Steve forgot to check the latest stats on BE. He did have a bad week to start August that brought his numbers down a little but that was understandable given the small sample size. The last two weeks he is back to raking with 4 HRs and only a 21% K rate.