Buster Posey may not feel pressure to rush up top SF Giants prospect in 2025
Posey is not under the same pressure as Zaidi.
With Buster Posey being hired as the new president of baseball operations for the SF Giants, one of the biggest questions he will face is how to handle the organization's top prospect, Bryce Eldridge.
In recent years, the Giants have made a habit of rushing up their young prospects and it has not worked out that great on the whole. One could argue that in recent years young prospects like Marco Luciano, Wade Meckler, and Luis Matos were rushed up to the big leagues and have struggled as a result.
Part of this was due to injuries and underperformance at the big league level. The front office felt the need to call some of these players up to provide a spark at the big league level but in so doing may have disrupted their natural progression through the minor leagues.
Buster Posey will not feel the need to rush top SF Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge
We do not yet know how Posey plans to manage prospects. As a former top prospect himself, perhaps he will take a more measured and patient approach and not rush players through the system because he understands how hard it can be to have high expectations placed upon you at such a young age.
It is important to remember that Eldridge is going to turn 20 years old in a little over a week. He is still very young and while he is obviously very talented, the belief that he is going to be a franchise savior next year is a lot to place on such young shoulders.
Additionally, Posey may not feel the same heat to rush up Eldridge the way that Farhan Zaidi would have if he was given the chance to serve out the final year of his contract in 2025. With Zaidi fighting for his job in 2025, one could easily see him calling Eldridge up in an act of desperation even if he was not ready.
Posey is a franchise legend who enters his new role with a lot of goodwill from the fanbase. While he wants to win as soon as possible, he is not going to feel the need to rush Eldridge up if him and the rest of the front office determine that he needs more seasoning in the minors. He can afford to be patient especially since it seems like the Giants will have two veterans on the team who can play first base.
Eldridge has the potential to be a great player for the Giants. In order for that to happen, the Giants need to be smarter about how they manage his development than they have been with the likes of Luciano and Matos. Let's hope that Posey exhibits more patience and prudence with prospects than Zaidi did.