In an airport, waiting to board a flight back to Sacramento, the last thing the Giants’ No. 1 prospect Bryce Eldridge was anticipating was the call.

The 6-foot-7 slugger had only one thing in mind: getting through the airport’s security line. 

“[My phone] was literally in my bin, next to my bag, belt and whatever else was in there. It was faced up, and my buddy, Thomas Gavello, was standing there and saw it,” Eldridge told reporters Monday before his MLB debut against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

What Eldridge didn’t know was that Sacramento River Cats manager David Brundage was about to deliver the highly touted 20-year-old the call. 

“[Gavello] was like, ‘You should probably take that.’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah.’ I’m just standing in the middle of security, and it’s like, I’m going to The Show. It was pretty cool,” Eldridge added. 

During the call, Eldridge was notified he was being promoted to the MLB ahead of San Francisco’s pivotal three-game series at Chase Field.

After the news hit, the journey to Arizona began.

“I got out in the middle of the security line, and he was telling me that I was going to come down here,” Eldridge said.

“The rest is history. My flight got delayed until 11 p.m., so I got in at midnight. It was a long night but here we are. It’s time to go.” 

After being slotted into Monday’s lineup, Eldridge looks to join Madison Bumgarner and Matt as the only 20-year-olds to play for the Giants in the last 40 years. 

When he gets his first at-bat, Bryce Eldridge will join Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain as the only 20-year-olds to play for the Giants in the last 40 years. He’ll be their first 20-year-old position player since catcher Jeff Ransom in 1981.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) September 15, 2025

Eldridge, however, won’t make his MLB debut wearing his preferred gear.

“My baseball gear is on the truck going to Sacramento,” Eldridge said. “Thankfully, my car is at the Papago Complex, and I got some cleats, some bats and batting gloves in there. We’re going to use those tonight and make do with what we got.” 

Eldridge, who batted .249 with an .836 OPS and recorded 18 home runs over 66 games with Triple-A Sacramento this year, added that initially Brundage played it off as if he were headed to Arizona a week early. 

In reality, he wasn’t going to be starting his offseason early at the organization’s complex. Eldridge was making a childhood dream come true. 

“He definitely soft-peddled it,” Eldridge said about his conversation with Brundage. “I was kind of standing awkwardly in the middle of security, so I was waiting around, trying to figure out what this was all about. 

“Obviously, I kind of started to pick up on it a little bit. They had told me the other day that I was going to come here after the season and work on my defense and be in the stay ready camp or whatever it is.

“He kind of played along with that: ‘We’re going to have you go there a week early, but you’re not going to [Papago], you’re going to Chase Field.’ That’s kind of how he did it.”

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