Bryson Eldridge: Everything you need to know

Eldridge is hitting .360 with one home run, a 15.9 percent walk rate and a 30.2 percent strikeout rate in 13 games for Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants are last in the majors in home runs hit (eight) and have scored the second-fewest runs per game (3.19) in MLB, per Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline, so Eldridge, who hit 25 homers in 102 minor-league games last year, fills a clear need. They will need to keep Eldridge at Triple-A until early May if they want to gain a seventh year of club control, as he spent the final two weeks of last season in the big leagues as the youngest hitter in the majors. Like many young sluggers, Eldridge will run higher strikeout rates for the foreseeable future, but he's well ahead of schedule and should eventually settle in as a four-category force, especially in OBP leagues.

Eldridge went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double in Triple-A Sacramento's 2-1 exhibition win over the Giants on Sunday. After being left off San Francisco's Opening Day roster, Eldridge looked sharp in Sunday's tune-up game. The 21-year-old hit a 444-foot home run to center field in the fourth and added a double in the seventh. He'll begin the 2026 campaign in the minors to get more reps at first base and continue working on his plate discipline, but he's likely to earn a call-up at some point this season. Over 19 Cactus League games this spring, Eldridge slashed .225/.380/.450 with eight runs scored, six RBI, one home run and a 9:19 BB:K across 50 plate appearances.

The Giants optioned Eldridge to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, Evan Webeck of the California Post reports. Eldridge posted an .830 OPS with six RBI and eight runs scored through 19 Cactus League games, but 19 of his 40 at-bats resulted in a strikeout. The 21-year-old had been in the running to open the regular season as San Francisco's primary designated hitter, but he will instead report to Sacramento, which will allow him to continue developing his discipline while making regular starts at first base. Now that Eldridge is out of the picture, Jerar Encarnacion figures to be the most likely candidate to DH for the Giants.