SAN FRANCISCO – At the end of a rough Spring Training, the Giants returned No. 1 prospect Bryce Eldridge to Triple-A Sacramento to gain more at-bats and the confidence that comes with posting huge numbers at the highest level in the Minors.
That plan apparently worked.
"I’m feeling sexy at the plate right now,” Eldridge said Monday after the Giants brought him back to San Francisco partly to reward him for his work in Sacramento and partly to infuse some youth and life into a team that just completed an 0-6 trip to Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.
Manager Tony Vitello started Eldridge batting seventh as the designated hitter. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and strikeout in the Giants’ 3-2 victory.
The No. 19 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline hit .333 with a .963 OPS, six doubles, five homers and 22 RBIs in 30 games for the River Cats. Over his past eight games, the 21-year-old hit .483 (14-for-29) with three homers and 11 RBIs, although five were played in altitude at Salt Lake City.
Eldridge will DH and occasionally spell Rafael Devers at first base, which had been Casey Schmitt’s role. That leaves Schmitt as a super-utility player who can gain starts at second and third as well as some outfield.
Eldridge’s second Major League callup, following a 3-for-28 cup of coffee last September, was part of a slew of moves the Giants made after returning from their punchless trip. They also recalled Jesus Rodriguez, a 24-year-old catcher and their No. 18 prospect, who can play some infield and outfield, while cutting two little-used outfielders. Jerar Encarnacion was designated for assignment and Will Brennan was optioned to Sacramento.
Rodriguez batted behind Eldridge on Monday night and started behind the plate. He went 0-for-3 and caught right-hander Trevor McDonald's seven-inning, one-run gem before being replaced by Patrick Bailey in the eighth.
Left-handed leverage reliever Erik Miller was placed on the 15-day injured list with a recurring back injury, while right-hander Trevor McDonald was recalled from Sacramento to start against the Padres.
The moves followed a trip in which the offense totaled nine runs, was shut out twice, and in two extra-inning losses could not score its automatic runner in the 10th inning.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey said the shakeup resulted from “a combination of watching Bryce and watching Jesus, and then the other piece is just how we’ve performed offensively and trying to jumpstart our offense a little bit. We certainly have underperformed.”
Entering Monday, the Giants ranked last in the Majors in runs (106) and homers (19), and second to last in OPS+ (84) and walks (69).
Posey emphasized that he does not expect Eldridge to carry the offense on his 6-foot-7 frame.
"When I think about what’s going to have to happen to lead us out of this funk, we’re going to need our big three guys to lead us out of this funk and produce the way we know they can produce,” Posey said.
He was referring to third baseman Matt Chapman, first baseman Devers and shortstop Willy Adames, who have combined to hit six home runs in 394 at-bats, while hitting .246, .214 and .195, respectively.
Expecting too much from a 21-year-old like Eldridge, even with his pedigree, can be fraught, because he still has room for development and has to shake the memories of his unimpressive spring (after offseason wrist surgery), and the way Major League pitchers carved him up during his September callup.
Vitello stopped short of saying Eldridge would play every day, but said the club’s 2023 first-round pick in the Amateur Draft would get some rope to make mistakes without fear of losing playing time.
Vitello said when the club sent Eldridge down after spring training he had “edge to him, like, ‘I’ll show you,’” but also a willingness to do what he needed to get the call.
Eldridge mainly needed work on his plate discipline. Too many strikeouts and too few walks have always been his Achilles’ heel, but he made progress at Sacramento.
While he struck out 41 times in 137 plate appearances this season with Sacramento, he drew 20 walks, a far better ratio than his career average.
Eldridge said he concentrated on watching how he was attacked at the plate, realizing that he was so aggressive that pitchers did not have to feed him anything he could drive. He worked on being “more picky.”
"Being a power guy there are going to be strikeouts involved,” Eldridge said. “You can say all you want about that, but if I’m getting on base, if I’m walking, it all evens out.”