Tony Vitello reveals how he will try to squeeze Bryce Eldridge into SF Giants lineup

The SF Giants have officially called up both Bryce Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez to the big league roster. Jerar Encarnacion was unsurprisingly DFA’d and Will Brennan was optioned to Triple-A in order to make room on the roster for the new guys.

While Vitello admitted Eldridge probably won't start every single game due to the way the roster is currently constructed, manager Tony Vitello both shed some light on how they will try to get Eldridge into the lineup.

SF Giants plan to get Bryce Eldridge plenty of opportunities

Vitello said that the Giants plan to give Eldridge opportunities and he doesn’t expect it to just be sporadic at-bats for the tall left-handed hitter. That’s probably ideal for the team because they need some sort of jolt. They’ve lost six games in a row and their offense has been dreadful so they need to find a way to get him consistent at-bats.

Obviously, the fact that Casey Schmitt has been on a tear as designated hitter makes that goal a little bit harder to achieve. Buster Posey said the following when asked about Schmitt: “Casey has been playing well. I don’t think he should be punished because others have not played well.” 

That’s a blunt but fair way to put it and it’s the right thing to do. Just because Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, and Rafael Devers are veterans and making a ton of money does not mean that they should just play every single day if someone else is swinging a hotter bat.

The Giants kept Chapman out of the lineup for Monday night which gives us a hint at how the Giants plan to make everything fit now that Eldridge is in the mix. Schmitt is going to start at third base and Eldridge is going to be the DH.

Maybe Schmitt could rotate around the infield and give guys a rest as needed. Vitello even said that it’s a possibility Schmitt could play in the outfield so he’s going to have to get creative to ensure that his best bats are in the lineup.

It also just feels like a trade is going to have to happen at some point in order to make everything work. Whether it’s trading Schmitt or Luis Arraez, moving someone could make it easier to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit.

It’s not going to be easy to make everything work, but Vitello is getting paid the big bucks so he, his coaching staff, and the front office have to figure this all out to try to get the season turned around before it’s too late. 

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