There's only one way for SF Giants to get Bryce Eldridge's bat in the lineup for good

Many SF Giants fans want to see Bryce Eldridge in the lineup. That’s why there was such a fierce backlash the other day when he was excluded from the batting order yet again. He’s been in the lineup the last two nights, but there’s really only one way to clear the table for him to ensure he gets regular at-bats and that is to make a trade.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic appeared on 95.7 The Game and pitched the idea of the Giants trading Luis Arraez to make room for Eldridge. Many fans would be upset with that because Arraez is one of the most consistent, solid hitters on the team and he has also been outstanding defensively at second base to the shock of just about everyone.

Giants have to swing a trade if they want Eldridge in the lineup consistently

Yet, by trading Arraez that would allow the Giants to slide Casey Schmitt in at second base which would then create room for Eldridge to be an everyday designated hitter.

For as much as fans may want to see the Giants trade or bench Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Rafael Devers that’s just not going to happen. Chapman and Adames have full no-trade clauses and it would be tough to get another team to take on Devers’ deal. They aren’t going to pull the plug on these guys after a rough month and a half so that means something else will have to give for Eldridge to get opportunities.

The Giants currently have six infielders fighting for playing time and the math doesn’t work to get them all in the lineup every single game. 

While fans want to see Eldridge, at this point it’s fair to wonder whether that is wise. He’s simply looked outmatched so far at the big league level. He had an impressive home run but outside of that it’s been too many strikeouts and not enough solid contact.

The Giants felt they had to make some sort of move after the rough start so they called up Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez, but now it seems like Eldridge will probably be relegated to bench duties for the most part unless he starts to get hot with the bat.

It’s fair to wonder if that’s in his best interest long-term. If the Giants didn’t press the panic button he could be down in Triple-A still working on his swing.

Really, the Giants should have waited for a very clear opportunity for Eldridge to get consistent playing time at the big league level. Whether it was an injury or Schmitt cooling off or something else, the Giants should have waited for that rather than call him up which has only created a logjam.

Now the Giants are going to have to wait and see how this season goes. What happens if the Giants play better baseball and Arraez and Schmitt continue to be two of the best hitters in the team deep into July? They aren’t going to want to trade either of those guys so that means Eldridge will continue to be blocked.

Of course, if the season goes decidedly south then the Giants can trade Arraez at the deadline since he is only on a one-year contract and they may not re-sign him after this season.

Fans can get upset as they want and it certainly was upsetting to see Eldridge blast his first career homer and then ride the line the next two games, but the math is the math and unless that math changes then Eldridge is going to be on the bench for most games and will probably be limited to pinch hit duties. 

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