The San Francisco Giants are bringing Bryce Eldridge to the majors, but not giving him the runway many expected. Tony Vitello said ahead of Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers that Eldridge will primarily be coming off the bench, and the top prospect was out of the lineup again.
Eldridge, called up a week ago, was also left out of the lineup on Sunday and has now sat in three of his last four games. In the one game he started, he hit his first career home run, but the early numbers have been uneven: two hits in his first 14 at-bats, five strikeouts and one walk.
The setup is part of a crowded roster picture in San Francisco. The Giants have money committed to Matt Chapman, Willy Adames and Rafael Devers, and Casey Schmitt has been their most productive hitter all year. Schmitt has also done well as the designated hitter, while Luis Arraez has been exceptional at the plate and defensively at second base, adding another productive bat to the mix.
That has already forced the Giants to make choices. They first benched Chapman for a game and started Schmitt at third base, then later benched Adames for a game and had Schmitt start at shortstop. Those moves helped create at-bats for Schmitt, but they also showed how hard it is to carve out a regular role for Eldridge right now.
The Giants were expected to play Eldridge often after the call-up, but the realities of their roster have changed that quickly. For now, the 20-year-old is learning the job from the bench while the club keeps trying to fit too many established pieces into the same lineup.
The next question is not whether Eldridge belongs in the majors. It is how long the Giants can keep his bat waiting if he keeps doing enough in the chances they give him.
