The Giants’ Bryce Eldridge, after batting .225 in the Cactus League, was sent to Triple-A. But he is determined to make his stay there as short as possible before returning to the majors.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
WEST SACRAMENTO — Bryce Eldridge exudes confidence at the plate. But the San Francisco Giants’ top prospect wasn’t quite himself in his second big league spring camp.
His strikeouts tend to tick on the higher side, but he struck out 19 times in 50 plate appearances (38%) while batting .225 over 19 games. The Giants optioned the 21-year-old to Triple-A Sacramento three days before camp broke. Manager Tony Vitello said Eldridge took it “like a pro.”
“I think they wanted to see me go in there with more of an attitude and maybe they thought I didn’t have that this spring,” said Eldridge, who was batting third for the River Cats in Sunday night’s exhibition against the Giants. “Keep working on that and keep trying to get comfortable in the box again.”
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Where’d that attitude go? Eldridge showed a glimpse of it Sunday when he walloped a 444-foot opposite-field home run in the fourth inning against Giants starter Tyler Mahle, the first hit he allowed. Eldridge later doubled in the River Cats’ 2-1 win. However, Eldridge says his swing just wasn’t feeling at its best during camp and he attributes it to an odd offseason rehabbing from October wrist surgery to remove a bone spur.
“No. I wasn’t,” Eldridge said, asked if he felt good in the box. “I think there were just certain things coming back from the wrist, bad habits. I wasn’t as confident in my swing going into it. The wrist feels great, but I think coming back from it I got in my head a little bit on how I was working and moving.”
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After surgery, Eldridge didn’t start taking swings again until Christmas week. The Virginia native was back in Arizona on Jan. 4, but his swing was missing.
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Eldridge noticed early on that his swing was too long, which meant he was dumping the barrel of his bat back and not moving straight to the ball. He knows it’ll take repetitions and time to shorten his swing again.
“From early on, I didn’t have an offseason to work on anything. I started swinging right before I came to Arizona. I wasn’t hitting off a machine or arm until I was out here,” Eldridge said. “I guess I didn’t really have much time to work on anything. Coming back from surgery, it’s hard to immediately be yourself again and let your move be your move.”
The decision to option Eldridge extinguished pre-spring training hopes that he would knock down the door, make the Opening Night roster and begin establishing himself as a mainstay. His has the kind of power that can transform a good lineup into a great one, especially when paired with Rafael Devers.
Eldridge is keeping perspective, knowing he can pave his path back to the big leagues this year.
“Obviously it’s not the end of the world that I’m here at 21 years old,” Eldridge said. “I definitely am going to have a big impact on that team this year.”
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Eldridge played in just 66 games with the River Cats last season before his Sept. 15 call-up in the wake of lefty first baseman Dom Smith’s injury. Eldridge was swinging well, batting .249 with 18 home runs. He hurt his wrist during his first spring camp last year and dealt with the pain for most of the 2025 season.
Eldridge found his spots to improve this spring. Though the strikeouts were high, he saw improvement in his patience with two strikes, learning not to chase. He got a lot of work in with infield guru Ron Washington on his first base defense. Coaches touted Eldridge’s improvement — he started to learn the position last year — particularly with his footwork.
“I think my defense overall is continuing to get better,” Eldridge said. “I feel like I can play first with the best of them in the big leagues. Working with Ron was a positive for me, I feel like I got so much more in spring.”
Coaches noted those improvements while telling him he’d be going to Sacramento.
“They liked my improvements at first,” he said. “And (told me) to keep working on my approach and get my confidence going in the box and hopefully not be down here too long.”
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Rotation notes: Mahle allowed one hit (Eldridge’s home run) over five innings with four strikeouts and a walk in his start for the Giants’ exhibition game against the River Cats. That sets in stone his third spot in the team’s rotation following Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, Vitello said.
How Adrian Houser and Landen Roupp fit into the fourth and fifth spots is to be determined, Vitello said.
One possibility is that the Giants utilize with their two first-week off-days (Thursday and Sunday), allowing one starter to skip a turn and push Webb up a day. That would line him and Ray up to face the San Diego Padres on the road.
Lefty situation: The Giants signed left-handed reliever Ryan Boruki to a one-year MLB contract Saturday, adding lefty insurance to a bullpen with shaky lefty options. Boruki, who turns 32 next week, will fill the void opened by Joey Lucchesi, who was reportedly granted his release by the Giants.