The San Francisco Giants are struggling to stay afloat in the National League West division, and while there is still a lot of baseball left to play on the season, the team needs to get its act together if it wants any shot of playing in the playoffs this year. The Giants are operating with a heightened sense of urgency, which explains why the team called up its top prospect, Bryce Eldridge, earlier this month.
Ever since getting promoted, though, Eldridge has been used sparingly by manager Tony Vitello, and it’s resulted in him struggling to find any sort of rhythm. While San Fran suffered a blowout 12-2 loss at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night, Eldridge picked up a pair of hits, which had fans hoping he’d draw another start on Tuesday. However, Vitello has surprisingly decided to once again leave Eldridge on the bench.
Bryce Eldridge Gets Left on the Bench by the Giants Again
Eldridge has powered his way through the minors in recent years, turning himself into one of the top prospects in baseball in the process. After briefly getting called up to the majors late last season, Eldridge began the season at Triple-A, but he raked to begin the year (.333 BA, 5 HR, 22 RBI, .963 OPS), leading to his aforementioned promotion.
Considering all the offensive struggles San Fran has endured so far this year, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Eldridge get promoted. Vitello has used him so sparingly, though, that it’s been tough for him to get in any sort of rhythm. Sure, Eldridge’s numbers so far aren’t great (.143 BA, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .476 OPS), but he’s only gotten 28 at-bats since getting promoted.
If there was a silver lining from the team’s most recent loss, it was that Eldridge showed signs of life at the plate. Rather than giving him an opportunity to build some positive momentum at the plate, though, Vitello stuck Eldridge back on the bench for Tuesday night’s clash against Arizona in a move that has left fans of the team increasingly puzzled.
“Bryce Eldridge is slated to start another game on the bench,” Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News shared in a post on X.
Giants’ Bryce Eldridge Usage is Officially Concerning
GettyBryce Eldridge of the San Francisco Giants
San Fran’s usage of Eldridge is puzzling at this point. The whole goal of promoting him to the majors was to provide the lineup with a spark that it has so sorely missed so far this season. But Vitello continues to have Eldridge riding the pine, so even when he puts together a solid game, there’s really no shot for him to build off of it.
It’s going to be tough for Eldridge to make the sort of impact the Giants are hoping to see from him if he can’t consistently find his way onto the field, but for whatever reason, he’s been used as a bench player right now. Eldridge could make an appearance as a pinch hitter on Tuesday night, but the fact that he isn’t starting once again is likely going to be enough to get fans riled up.
Giants Make Frustrating Bryce Eldridge Lineup Announcement