ORLANDO, Fla. -- With a long list of needs to address, the Giants know they’ll have to stay open-minded when it comes to finding ways to add talent to their roster this offseason.
That includes exploring their options on the trade market, where potential deals involving No. 1 prospect Bryce Eldridge can’t be ruled out.
The Giants aren’t making Eldridge untouchable in trade talks this winter, though president of baseball operations Buster Posey reiterated that he believes the 21-year-old first baseman has the potential to develop into a foundational piece for the club in the near future.
"We listen on everybody, but Bryce, we think the sky is the limit for this guy,” Posey said on Monday, the first day of the Winter Meetings. “He just turned 21 years old. I know he didn’t put up great numbers in his limited playing time, but he didn’t look like he was overmatched or scared. I thought he had some really good at-bats for being not even 21. I think sometimes you can say, ‘Well, the guy is young and maybe you’ve got to take that into account.’ But this guy has flown through the system. Playing at Double-A, Triple-A -- at 19, 20 years old. I think he’s got a chance to be one of the biggest impact bats for the next 10 to 15 years in the big leagues, potentially. I think we’ll listen. But we like him a lot.”
Eldridge hit .260 with an .843 OPS and 25 home runs over a combined 102 games in 2025 with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento before making his Major League debut as a September callup. The 2023 first-round Draft pick went only 3-for-28 (.107) with 13 strikeouts over 10 games with the Giants, but he showed flashes of his elite power by posting a hard-hit rate of 68.8%, which would have edged Kyle Schwarber (59.6%) for the best in the Majors if he’d had enough plate appearances to qualify.
The Giants currently have two left-handed-hitting first basemen in Eldridge and Rafael Devers, so it’s possible they could use that roster redundancy to try to fill other holes in their starting rotation or outfield. Still, Posey said the Giants could simply have Eldridge and Devers split time at first base and designated hitter to keep both of their bats in San Francisco’s lineup for years to come.
“I think just based on the little bit of time that we were around Rafi last year, he’s a team guy and he wants to win,” Posey said. “If Bryce is beating down the door, he’s going to want somebody protecting him in the lineup, too.”
Eldridge underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his left wrist in October, but he’s completed his rehab and is expected to be fully healthy for Spring Training. The question now is whether he’ll still be in the organization next year, particularly given the Giants’ reluctance to spend big on free-agent starters this winter. Frontline arms like Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai and Ranger Suárez will likely be out of San Francisco’s comfort zone, but the club could be a match for trade candidates such as the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta, the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore, the Reds’ Hunter Greene or the Royals’ Kris Bubic.
Trading for pitching could make sense if the Giants are unwilling to shop at the top of the free-agent market, though Posey said chairman Greg Johnson and the rest of the club’s ownership take every player acquisition on a case-by-case basis.
“I think as much as anything, Greg has shown that if we come to him and feel strongly about a certain player, he’ll at least listen on it,” Posey said. “We’re no different than any other organization. I think every team has to operate within a certain set of parameters. That’s part of it. But again, Greg and the ownership group didn’t blink -- well, I shouldn’t say didn’t blink -- when we brought the Devers deals to them. But obviously, they pushed it through for us. I know he and I feel really lucky that we get to work with a group that if we’re passionate about somebody and we think it makes sense and we think it makes the team better, they’ll listen on it.”