Giants Facing Bryce Eldridge Decision After Buster Posey Comments

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated May 19, 2026 6:47 PM ET

The San Francisco Giants are fourth in the NL West at 20-28 entering Tuesday night's matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and their top prospect hasn't helped matters. First baseman/designated hitter Bryce Eldridge is slashing just .143/.226/.250 with one homer and one RBI over nine games since getting called up on May 4.

Eldgridge is the No. 18 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list and is slashing .333/.445/.518 with five homers and 22 RBIs over 30 Triple-A games this year. However, the 21-year-old has not been the same player at the top level, and that's after slashing .107/.297/.179 with four RBIs across 10 big-league games last year.

One thing that could help Eldridge is more consistent playing time, which Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey acknowledged on Tuesday, via The Mercury News' Justice delos Santos.

“I do think it is important to have consistent repetition,” he said. “Baseball is a game that, generally, the more you play, you kind of can work through some bumps along the way. It’s something we’ll have to keep an eye on and decide based on how a lot of different things are going.”

Bryce Eldridge is slated to start another game on the bench. Talked with Buster Posey yesterday about Eldridge’s current playing time and the importance of getting him consistent reps. https://t.co/6ixVdscouH
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) May 19, 2026

Giants Must Be Patient With Bryce Eldridge

San Francisco Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

San Francisco is threading the needle between trying to win now and giving Eldridge reps. However, if the club keeps the 6-foot-7, 251-pounder at the big-league level, inserting him in and out of the lineup isn't the best development strategy.

Eldridge has yet to play more than three games in a row since the Giants called him up, and he's had fewer than four plate appearances in four of them. Posey admitted that part of the reason for the rookie's sporadic playing time is first baseman/designated hitter Casey Schmitt's good form, as he's slashing .295/.342/.523 with eight homers and 21 RBIs across 40 games. Schmitt and fellow first baseman/designated hitter Rafael Devers (.665 OPS) usually start, and Eldridge doesn't play any other position.

But if San Francisco would rather prioritize the veterans and try to contend this season, then Eldridge would be best served getting more reps in Triple-A. There's little benefit to having the Virginia native in and out of the big-league lineup, especially if he's struggling.

The Giants selected Eldridge No. 16 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school. He made his big-league debut last September and had wrist surgery this past offseason.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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