Late in the night on Sunday September 14, 2025, San Francisco Giants insider Susan Slusser reported the news that many fans have waited all season to hear: the Giants are calling up top prospect Bryce Eldridge.
Eldridge, the No. 13 prospect in all of baseball, is a left-handed power hitting first baseman who could see time at both first base and designated hitter this season. The Giants are calling him up amid an injury to starting first baseman Dominic Smith, who strained his hamstring on Friday September 12, 2025.
Eldridge’s call-up represents a last-ditch effort by the Giants to make the playoffs. As recently as Saturday, the Giants were tied with the New York Mets for the third and final wild card spot. But two straight losses have put them 1.5 games behind New York, who also holds the tiebreaker over San Francisco.
But, as any diehard Giants fan will realize, bringing up Eldridge to the 28-man roster means demoting another player to the minor leagues. Eldridge isn’t on the 40-man roster pool of players that can be called up to the MLB either, which will make this roster crunch even more difficult. The Giants will essentially have to cut a player to give Eldridge a shot, unless they make an unexpected injury move.
So who are the most likely candidates to get demoted or cut? Here are a few options that seem most likely.
Cutting JT Brubaker
This is the most likely option for San Francisco because it’s the easiest from a front office standpoint. Designating JT Brubaker for assignment would clear both a 28-man and 40-man roster spot for Eldridge.
The Giants signed Brubaker to a minor league deal back on August 14, 2025. At the time, it seemed like a move that could bolster their starting pitching depth.
But since the Giants called Brubaker up on September 1, 2025, they have used him exclusively in a long relief role.
His numbers aren’t particularly pretty, with a 5.68 ERA in 3 appearances (6.1 innings). He’s also already 31 years old, so his days of being a prospect are long over.
Finally, the Giants already have a lot of long relief depth. Tristan Beck, Spencer Bivens, Carson Seymour and Keaton Winn have all served in long relief roles, to decent success.
4.0 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 3 K 48 pitches (30 strikes)
Brubaker is an easy guy to root for, as he is attempting to make a comeback from a devastating injury a few years back, but the ease of swapping him for Eldridge means this move might make too much sense.
Cutting Andrew Knizner, Calling Up Jesus Rodriguez, Sending Grant McCray to AAA
This move takes a lot of shuffling, and sacrifices a lot of defense, but if the Giants think big-hitting prospects like Eldridge are key to saving their season, why not go all-in?
Jesus Rodriguez is already on the 40-man roster, he would immediately slot in as the backup cacher behind Patrick Bailey. Cutting Andrew Knizner opens a 40-man spot for Eldridge.
Knizner’s batting average is actually up to .217 as of late, but he has only played 2 games in the month of September. Knizner would play essentially every 3 games throughout the season, but amidst the Giants’ playoff push, they have relied on Bailey to take all of the reps.
If Bailey is going to get the lions’ share of the innings behind the plate, the Giants may as well have a dangerous pinch hitter as their second catcher. Rodriguez is hitting .311 in the minor leagues this season and .341 since joining Sacramento in the beginning of August.
Moving Dominic Smith to 60-Day IL, Optioning A Pitcher
The Giants apparently think Dominic Smith’s regular season is over. If they don’t think he can return for the potential playoffs either, it might be wise just to move him to the 60-Day IL, so they can clear a roster spot for Eldridge without having to cut ties with anyone.
Smith is one of the Giants’ most steady and valuable players however, so San Francisco should only do this if they’re certain the injury will sideline him through the month of October.
The Giants could then send a pitcher, most likely Tristan Beck or Keaton Winn, to AAA Sacramento.
These seem like the most likely options. But the Giants could also surprise everyone and cut ties with a former top prospect like Jerar Encarnacion, Tyler Fitzgerald or Marco Luciano. It truly depends on who the organization values the most as a player, not what the objective “best” option is.
Giants fans, who do you think the organization will move off the roster to make room for Bryce Eldridge?
Bryce Eldridge Is Here. How Will The San Francisco Giants Clear A Roster Spot For Him?