The SF Giants have reportedly been willing to entertain trade talks involving top prospect Bryce Eldridge. Former Giants fan favorite J.T. Snow thinks that strategy could backfire and potentially upset the young Eldridge.

Snow appeared on KNBR recently and spoke about the Eldridge trade rumors. He warned the Giants to be cautious, saying, “Be careful, he might go to his agent and say, ‘You know what? Trade me.'”

J.T. Snow thinks SF Giants entertaining Eldridge trade talks could backfire

Snow does have a point that with the Giants saying there are no untouchables in trade talks they are in essence saying they will listen to trade talks. However, that is really the front office doing its due diligence. Saying a player is off the table could stop other teams from even asking which could close off interesting trade avenues.

Eldridge likely understands the business side of things and knows that trades are an inevitable part of the game. He has to know there is some chatter around him but maybe the 21-year-old is simply tuning it out.

If he is paying attention, he was probably heartened to hear president of baseball operations Buster Posey say, “I think he’s got a chance to be one of the biggest impact bats for the next 10 to 15 years in the big leagues, potentially. We’ll listen, but we like him a lot.”

Obviously, saying the team will listen is different than saying the team is actively shopping Eldridge this winter. That would be more of a slap in the face to the young prospect but it seems the Giants just do not want to shut the door and would like to keep their options open.

Surely, there are some big trades out there that the team would love to make. Trading Eldridge could potentially be the only way the Giants are able to land an ace-level arm for the starting rotation since reporting suggests the Giants are unwilling to spend big on a starting pitcher.

Snow has worked closely with Eldridge as he has developed, helping him on defense where Snow won six Gold Gloves in his career as a first baseman. Snow says that Eldridge has made a lot of strides defensively so perhaps if the Giants hold onto him he can take a big step forward next season.

We will see if the Giants are serious about trading Eldridge, but Snow may be right that there is some part of Eldridge that doesn’t like that he is being mentioned in trade talks. Maybe that will put a chip on his shoulder and fuel him going forward.