The Giants are currently ranked fourth in the division with a 20-29 record. They are ranked 30th in terms of total runs scored (170) and 27th in terms of hitting home runs (40). However, despite such struggling figures, the Giants manager is keeping his No.1 prospect on the bench even after promoting him. Now, as the fans and insiders are wondering what’s wrong with the Giants’ front office, the man himself opens up.

“I guess I’m surprised, but it’s not my decision. It is what it is. You can argue every day that playing every day would be helpful, but I’m happy to be here. Obviously, it’s a little bit different, but this is where I’ve always wanted to be. I’ve just got to continue to earn my stripes here,” Bryce Eldridge said.

Eldridge is one of the few players who started as a two-way talent. He could be the next Shohei Ohtani, but eventually chose to focus only on batting, and it paid off. He is coming off an impressive .285 average from his minor league career. No wonder the Giants promoted him last September, and he went 3-for-28 from 10 appearances last year before getting sidelined with an injury.

He was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to begin the 2026 season, only to be recalled back on May 4. It made the fans excited to see Eldridge finally getting the chance to shine when the team badly needed offensive reinforcements. However, the Giants manager, Tony Vitello, had some other plans.

Since May 4, Eldridge has had the chance to start only in 5 games till now, and only once in the last four days. On May 18, he had his best night in MLB, producing two hits, but the Giants manager rewarded him by benching him again. “It’s a little bit of a puzzle to solve,” Vitello said. “But when you come to work every day, and you’ve got a guy that’s always got a smile on his face, and he’s willing to do whatever you ask, it makes it a lot easier.”

We wonder what’s becoming easy here. The team is struggling at the plate, and benching a prospect who’s coming with 23 HRs, 89 RBI, and an .858 OPS at Triple-A surely makes it controversial. Yes, Eldridge feels good about being promoted, and it’s too early for him to be vocal, but he surely deserves more playing time.

“It’s the San Francisco Giants calling up their No. 1 prospect, one of the prized young sluggers in baseball, only to let him rot on the bench. The Giants, who promoted first baseman Bryce Eldridge two weeks ago from Triple-A Sacramento, are utilizing their batboys more frequently than Eldridge,” MLB insider Bob Nightengale wrote.

Vitello seems committed to Casey Schmitt as the DH. Schmitt is doing well, hitting .294. However, he has experience all over the diamond. So, keeping Schmitt as DH and benching Eldridge makes us wonder if handling Eldridge’s development could be worse than this.

This year, the Giants prospect is hitting .143/.226/.250 across the nine games played. Before concluding on his below-par numbers, a top prospect needs consistent playing time to perform. And for the Giants, which got only two batters hitting above .300, it would have been an easy task to offer more playing time to Eldridge.

The Giants’ offense woes are more than just benching Eldridge, and it could spark a few unexpected trades.

The Giants’ confusion with Rafael Devers

Rafael Devers was traded to San Francisco with much fanfare. Devers was Buster Posey’s biggest bet in recent times, absorbing the humongous 10-year, $313.5 million deal. However, the return was not as expected. Devers is currently hitting .246 and has belted 6 homers.

Devers’ recent surge, including a 2-for-4 in Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to the Diamondbacks, with a solo home run, is also not helping his case much. MLB insider Jon Heyman sees a possibility of the Giants trading Devers. “They [Giants] are not in the race right now,” Heyman said. “If they do sell, he [Devers] is a possibility, at least in my mind. Do they want to give that up after they just traded for him a year ago? It’s probably a long shot, but I’m throwing that out there.”

Trading Devers could open up a huge financial scope for the Giants. They could reinvest in arming up their roster, especially after demoting relievers Ryan Walker and Gregory Santos. However, it’s easier said than done to trade a marquee name like Rafael Devers. Posey would surely work around him before the trade deadline.

Meanwhile, Vitello’s surprising handling of Bryce Edridge is what sparks the attention.