After Susan Slusser broke the news on Sunday night, the San Francisco Giants made it official on Monday afternoon: 20-year old superslugger Bryce Eldridge is making his Major League debut.
A few hours before beginning their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants officially announced the news and called up the 2023 first-round pick, who has hit 25 home runs this year between AA Richmond and AAA Sacramento. Eldridge will wear No. 78, and will be the designated hitter in Monday’s game. He’ll
bat fifth, behind third baseman Matt Chapman and in front of left fielder Heliot Ramos.
The Giants had to make space on both the active and 40-man rosters, and did so by optioning outfielder Luis Matos to AAA, and designating for assignment Sacramento infielder Brett Wisely. It’s a tough break for Matos, who seemed to be given a big leash following the Mike Yastrzemski trade, and hit extremely well. He slashed .323/.368/.548 in 19 games since August 1, but the combination of his mediocre defense, Drew Gilbert’s ascension, and the return of Jerar Encarnación put him out of favor. Presumably Gilbert and Encarnación will platoon in right field for now, with Grant McCray serving as a roving defensive replacement.
As for Wisely, the writing was on the wall. He hit poorly in short stints in the Majors this year, and also in AAA, and will be out of options after this season. He had fallen far behind Casey Schmitt, Christian Koss, and Tyler Fitzgerald on the infield depth chart, and it’s felt for a while like this would be his final year in the organization. Given the timing of this move, however, it’s likely that he’ll clear waivers and be outrighted.
