Luis Arraez injury could create a glide path for obvious SF Giants promotion

The SF Giants lost a rough one to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night and to make matters worse, second baseman Luis Arraez had to leave the game due to a wrist injury suffered on a very weird play while he was on defense. If Arraez ends up having to spend time on the IL, that could create an opportunity for the Giants to make an obvious move by elevating Bryce Eldridge to the big league club.

SF Giants have an obvious next move if Arraez needs IL stint

As of right now, Arraez is considered day-to-day with what has been deemed a right wrist contusion. That's good news as there was definitely a fear in the moment that the injury was more severe. He did not leave the game immediately as he was later replaced by Christian Koss even though Arraez singled in the fifth inning following the injury. There is always a fear that an injury like this could worsen and he could end up having to go on the IL.

That would be a shame because Arraez has been the team's best all-around player so far this season. He is hitting .304/.339/393 with six runs batted in and has been surprisingly solid at second base. He's been basically everything the Giants were hoping for when they signed him so one hopes the injury does not keep him out too long.

Koss is getting the start at second base on Sunday so it seems like the Giants will give Arraez two days off at least with no game on Monday.

If Arraez does have to miss a stretch of time though, it would give the Giants an opportunity to elevate Eldridge who has been swinging a very hot bat in Triple-A Sacramento. He is coming off a four-hit game recently and the calls for him to be promoted are only growing louder. The 21-year-old is currently hitting .360/.492/.520 with one homer and eight runs batted in so far for Sacramento.

If the Giants were to put Arraez on the IL and recalled Eldridge, they could use him as the designated hitter and use either Casey Schmitt or Christian Koss at second base. Maybe they could use Jerar Encarnacion as the DH against lefties so he remains involved.

Of course, this could create something of a dilemma if Arraez is healthy and ready to go after a brief 10-day IL stint. If Eldridge lights it up in that span, then it would be nearly impossible to send him back to Triple-A. The Giants would either have to demote Koss or designate Encarnacion for assignment to make room for him and they'd probably opt for the latter.

That's a decision the Giants probably do not want to have to make this early in the season so expect them to wait a few days to see how Arraez progresses with his injury. If it gets worse and an IL stint is necessary, then Eldridge would be the most logical choice to take his place on the roster although there are some other worthy candidates also currently tearing it up in Triple-A.