Top SF Giants prospect's surgery could open door to reunion with veteran

The SF Giants have a number of free agents who will hit the open market after the MLB playoffs. In light of Bryce Eldridge's recent wrist surgery, is it now any more likely that the Giants could bring back veteran Dominic Smith?

Eldridge had surgery to remove a bone spur from his left wrist. The estimated recovery timeline is eight weeks, so the surgery should not impact Eldridge's ability to be ready for spring training or Opening Day.

Eldridge surgery could create path for Dom Smith to stay with SF Giants

Of course, one hopes that there are not any setbacks or complications with Eldridge and his wrist, but does the surgery at least plant a small seed of doubt that could lead the Giants to try and bring Smith back to the Giants?

The veteran had a great 2025 campaign with San Francisco. In 204 at-bats, he slashed .284/.333/.417 with five home runs and 33 runs batted in. He turned into one of the most reliable bats on the team and also provided superb defense at first base. Unfortunately, he went down with an injury in September. Who knows, maybe if he hadn't the Giants could have snuck into the playoffs with his contributions.

He was a great addition by the front office, but it seemed like it would be tough to bring him back with Rafael Devers at first base and Eldridge being a first baseman as well. Now, maybe the Eldridge surgery will make the front office think a little bit harder about a reunion with Smith.

General manager Zack Minasian has spoken about how the team would like to have Smith back, but after such a solid season there will probably be better opportunities out there for him where he would get greater playing time than he would with the Giants.

Still, Eldridge is only going to be 21 years old next season and he certainly still needs to develop both offensively and defensively despite all of his promise. It would not be the craziest thing for the Giants to sign Smith to a one-year deal and have Eldridge start the year in Triple-A where he could clean some things up and make sure he is truly ready for the big leagues after getting a brief taste in 2025.

The Eldridge surgery will likely not make Eldridge miss any time, but maybe it makes the Giants think a little bit harder about having a contingency plan in place at first base which is why a reunion Smith could make sense.