Giants have cut top prospects Bryce Eldridge, Marco Luciano. What's the plan now?

New York Times

05-03-2025

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — First baseman Bryce Eldridge is the headliner in the San Francisco Giants' minor-league system. Newly converted outfielder Marco Luciano had been the top-ranked player for several prior seasons. Both prospects were among the first round of cuts the team announced Wednesday morning.
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Right-hander Mason Black, who made his major-league debut last season but was behind others on the 40-man roster this spring, was among six pitchers who will join Eldridge and Luciano as they relocate their duffel bags from major-league camp to the minor-league complex at Papago Park.
The cuts weren't surprising. Eldridge, 20, was invited to major-league camp for the first time so he could work with major-league coaches and be introduced to the Giants clubhouse. Perhaps the Giants left the door open for him to overwhelm them with his performance, but they certainly weren't anticipating that he would be a candidate to break camp on the Opening Day roster.
Eldridge appeared composed and professional beyond his years and made an immediate impression with a 450-foot home run at Surprise in the Giants' Cactus League opener. But he struggled while making sporadic appearances, mostly as a designated hitter in the back half of games. He finished 2 for 11 with eight strikeouts and one walk in eight games; in his only appearance at first base, he misplayed a groundball into a double.
He'll get more game reps as a first baseman in minor-league camp, Giants manager Bob Melvin said.
'It doesn't mean we can't bring them back at some point in time if we feel like there's a start for him,' Melvin said. 'He's very appreciative, had great things to say about the group, and so forth. I'm sure we're going to see Bryce Eldridge at some point in the future. But he just needs some consistent at-bats.'
The Giants haven't determined where Eldridge will start the season after he rocketed through four levels last year, finishing at Triple-A Sacramento after just nine games at Double-A Richmond. But the Giants had Eldridge take that last step only because the Double-A season was ending and they wanted him to keep playing before sending him to the Arizona Fall League.
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Given that Eldridge's Double-A stint was so brief, and the pitching in the Eastern League tends to make for a rigorous hitting challenge, it stands to reason that Richmond would be an appropriate place for the Giants to send him to start the season. The Virginia native would be playing in front of friends and family, too, which might ease his transition against upper-level pitching.
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey has said that he wants Eldridge to be well-rounded and display defensive competence before making his major-league debut. But the team's current projected roster appears light on left-handed run production. If the team is scuffling while Eldridge catches fire at the plate, it will make for some interesting conversations among front office staff and coaches.
'We don't want to rush him,' Melvin said. 'Once he gets it all together and feels comfortable defensively and puts up big numbers, that's when you'll see him here. Whether that's this year at some point, I'm not sure, but he moved up pretty quickly last year because of his bat.'
As for the glove?
'He's made big strides here,' Melvin said. '(Special assistant) Ron Wotus will still be down there (at Papago) with him at times, working with him here in spring training. He works hard every day. We do special stuff with him, and talking to (coaches) Matt Williams and Mark Hallberg, they think he's made significant strides since he's been here.'
Luciano, 23, also made a positive impression in the field while getting game experience in the outfield for the first time. The converted shortstop appeared confident while tracking fly balls and took good routes. But he didn't have much timing at the plate, and when you juxtaposed his at-bats with those of Jerar Encarnacion and Luis Matos, it was apparent that Luciano didn't play winter ball in the Dominican Republic. Luciano was 2 for 19 (.105) with one home run, three walks and five strikeouts in nine games.
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Even with a better spring, Luciano would've been hard-pressed to wedge his way into consideration for at-bats in the outfield or DH to start the season. Encarnacion is out of minor-league options and is pummeling the ball this spring while emerging as the club's top DH option. He can also play credibly at first base and both outfield corners. With Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee and Mike Yastrzemski expected to start in the grass, the Giants likely have one outfield spot remaining and they hope Matos will assert himself and claim a role as Yastrzemski's platoon partner.
For all the mixed messaging over Luciano's opportunities and mistakes that the previous administration made in his development, Luciano's path seems pretty clear now: Go to Triple A, produce at the plate and get comfortable in the outfield.
'We really want him to focus on going down there, playing every day, getting the outfield thing under his belt, which I think he's handled beautifully, and then the bat's going to start to play a little bit more,' Melvin said. 'I've had those conversations with Marco a few times last year (to send him down) and he's handled himself well. I don't know inside what he's thinking, but he always takes it well, and he tells me, 'I'm going to go down there and work.' And I think he did look forward to starting games and getting full games in as opposed to coming in a little later.'
If Luciano is looking for inspiration, he can remember that Ramos, who made the NL All-Star team, was among the first round of cuts last spring.
Like Ramos last year, Luciano will be playing his last season with minor-league options. So if he'll have any future in the Giants organization, he'll probably have to establish himself at some point in 2025.
Luciano and Black were optioned. Eldridge, who was in camp as a non-roster invitee, was reassigned. So were five other NRI pitchers: right-hander Kai-Wei Teng, right-hander Cole Waites, left-hander Raymond Burgos, left-hander Miguel Del Pozo and left-hander Ethan Small.
The most spirited competition this spring has been for the No. 5 starter and as many as three spots in the bullpen. The Giants may keep as many as two NRIs who remain in camp, with veteran right-hander Lou Trivino and left-hander Enny Romero currently at the front of the line.
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It's a comment on the Giants' pitching depth that they sent down Black, someone they debuted out of necessity last season but was clearly behind a crop of pitchers that includes Landen Roupp, Hayden Birdsong, Kyle Harrison, Carson Seymour, Tristan Beck and Keaton Winn.
'You want him to go down there and get stretched out,' Melvin said. 'He's been in the big leagues before and it's going to be performance that gets him back. Sometimes the (velocity) is all over the place, sometimes the command can be a little bit off for him. But we've seen him pitch well in games and there have been times that he hasn't pitched well. So it's going to be consistency for him.'
(Top photo of Bryce Eldridge: Norm Hall / Getty Images)