SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — One of the main questions that the Giants’ brass had to ponder this spring was whether first baseman Bryce Eldridge would start his season with San Francisco or Triple-A Sacramento. With the season less than a week away, the organization has its answer.

Eldridge, the Giants’ top prospect, will not be on the Opening Day roster, optioned to Sacramento ahead of the team’s road game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields.

Along with Eldridge, infielder Tyler Fitzgerald and outfielder Grant McCray were optioned to Sacramento. The team now has 42 players remaining in camp (34 players on the 40-man roster and eight non-roster invitees).

The decision to start the 21-year-old Eldridge in Sacramento does not come as a surprise. Eldridge has only had 321 plate appearances at Triple-A last year, and while he’s hit 18 homers and posted an .810 OPS at that level, he’s been roughly a league-average hitter when accounting for ballpark and the Pacific Coast League’s high-octane run environment.

Eldridge has put up fine offensive numbers during Cactus League play, posting an .830 OPS with a home run and six RBIs over 19 games, but the strikeouts have been glaring. Of Eldridge’s 50 plate appearances, 19 (38.0%) have ended in a strikeout.

Strikeouts were an issue for Eldridge last season as well. In 2025, Eldridge ranked in the 13th percentile of whiff rate among all hitters in Triple-A. Against breaking balls, Eldridge had a concerningly high whiff rate of 53.7 percent.

Eldridge also wouldn’t have gotten consistent game reps in the field since Rafael Devers is already entrenched as the Giants’ starting first baseman. Eldridge has improved as a defender since picking up the position before the 2024 season, but he still needs more reps to evolve into a positive defender.

While he still has work to do on both sides of the ball, Eldridge has no shortage of supporters in the organization.

“The ceiling is about as high as anybody in the big leagues with the kind of size that he has,” said hitting coach Hunter Mense. “You just don’t see a lot of those guys walking around Major League Baseball that are holding a bat; they’re usually carrying a glove and pitching. In that general standpoint, there’s some things that he can create and do. He can hit balls above the batter’s eye. He can hit balls out to right, out to left.”

“He has gained some confidence,” said infield coach Ron Washington of Eldridge’s defense. “Through that confidence, you’ll see him start doing better defensively. He has a long ways to go because it is more than the physical part of it. There’s a lot of mentality that goes on out there: being in the right spot, knowing where to go when the ball is put in play, finishing plays off and stuff like that.”

With Eldridge officially beginning the season in Triple-A, the Giants’ plans for the Opening Day roster should start to come into focus. It’s possible that San Francisco will carry both Luis Matos and Jerar Encarnacion, a pair of outfielders who are out of options.

Eldridge will contribute in the majors at some point this season. But when the Giants host the New York Yankees at Oracle Park on March 25 for Opening Night, Eldridge will not be among those standing next to the likes of Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers on the third-base line.

“The most encouraging sign is the feedback I get from the staff about his work ethic,” said vice president of player development Randy Winn. “His work ethic last year was tremendous in the minors, and to see him all the accolades that he’s gotten and his status as a top prospect, that hasn’t changed.”

This story will be updated.