SF Giants in no rush to move top first base prospect amid team's struggles at position

Top SF Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge returned to action earlier this week and blasted a home run in his first at-bat. While the team has struggled to get production out of the position, they are in no rush to move Eldridge.

SF Giants in no rush to move top first base prospect amid team's struggles at position

Team president of baseball operations Buster Posey joined the Murph and Markus Show on Thursday morning to discuss the team's hot start. The conversation veered toward LaMonte Wade's struggles and whether Eldridge could soon take over, but Posey reaffirmed that the top prospect still has work to do in the minors:

"He's [Eldridge] a long ways away. There's a lot of stuff outside of hitting that he needs reps on. He needs defensive reps. He needs situational reps. We're certainly excited about his future, but he needs a lot of reps""

Buster Posey

Even in the offseason, the front office has remained steadfast in wanting to be deliberate with Eldridge's development, and that is not a bad thing. They are excited to see what he can do in the upper minors, but when they eventually call him up, they will want to be 100 percent certain that he is ready.

Too many times in recent years, the Giants promoted a prospect to the majors before he was ready. In many of those instances, the player was eventually sent back down after the league adjusted. Shuttling prospects to and from the minors is just a bad developmental path, so they will want to avoid that same outcome with Eldridge.

In the meantime, Posey is remaining patient with Wade Jr. and is not ready to move on. He cited the first baseman's track record and hard work as reasons why he believes a turnaround will eventually occur.

Wade Jr. is in the midst of a brutal slump, slashing .094/.234/.219 with one home run and eight RBI in 78 plate appearances this season. He also struggled in the final three months of last year.

The 31-year-old hitter began the season atop the lineup, especially against right-handed pitching, but has been moved down due to the prolonged slump. The Giants have been platooning him more with a right-handed bat to try and get some more production out of that spot in the lineup. While the Giants might get to a point where they consider demoting Wade Jr. to the bench, it will not be Eldridge taking over anytime soon, as Posey hinted.