SF Giants 2026 spring training preview: designated hitter

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — On Sept. 11, 2009, Buster Posey made his major-league debut. He enjoyed his cup of coffee, checked off a couple of milestones, then started the next year with Triple-A Fresno before being called up to the majors — for good — in May.

Fast-forward to the present day and Posey is confronting a similar situation, one in which he’s making the decisions of another young prospect’s fate.

On Sept. 15, 2025, Bryce Eldridge made his major-league debut. He, like Posey, enjoyed his cup of coffee. He, like Posey, checked off a couple of milestones. Will he, like Posey, also start the next year with Sacramento?

The Giants haven’t definitely said where Eldridge’s season will begin. They likely won’t provide that answer until mid-March. Read between the lines, however, and an answer starts to form.

Additions: N/A

Subtractions: Wilmer Flores (Free Agent)

Projected DH WAR Ranking: 22nd

Here’s manager Tony Vitello talking about Eldridge last week: “He’s incredibly mature as a kid, but repetitions and conversations and maturing so that he’s a complete player is the key to him becoming the best version of himself.”

Now, here’s Vitello talking about Patrick Bailey’s offense: “As a hitter at any level, repetitions are the most valuable thing. As you mature as a player, as the benefit of those reps, you become better.”

And finally, Vitello talking about Drew Gilbert: “Repetitions are massive. … It’s an experience-based sport and it’s an experience-based craft. … I just think stacking those reps and experiences helps you guys truly see who Drew is or who Jung (Hoo Lee) or whoever it might be. If you’re going to play the game for 10 years and have a lot of success, you need that.”

What’s the common word? Repetitions. If that’s what Vitello and San Francisco consider to be important, then Eldridge hasn’t had a ton of them at the professional level.

Eldridge has played two full seasons as a professional since being drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, missing time last year due to a left wrist injury that required offseason surgery. He’s played 249 minor-league games, but only 117 of those games have been above A-ball. In Triple-A, specifically, he’s only played 74 games and taken 321 plate appearances.

If Eldridge completely and totally dominated the Pacific Coast League’s pitching, perhaps the Giants could look past the small quantity of reps. That hasn’t the case.

Over 66 games in 2025, Eldridge had a .249/.322/.514 slash line with 18 homers and 63 RBIs for Sacramento. The batted-ball data jumps off the page, and those numbers are great on the surface. When accounting for the PCL’s offensive environment, Eldridge was only five percent better than a league-average hitter. He flashed his awesome power, but he was streaky, struck out out 30.8 percent of the time and had a lot of whiff in his game.

It’s also worth noting that Eldridge hasn’t participated much in the live bullpens and simulated games on the main field at Scottsdale Stadium in the same group as guys who have a secure spot on the Opening Day roster.

Willy Adames, Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and other starters have had plenty of at-bats on the main field, but the same can’t be said of Eldridge. During Wednesday’s extended sim game, Eldridge only had one at-bat: a left-on-left battle against Reiver Sanmartin. It’s not a definitive sign of his status, but it’s at least somewhat telling.

Nothing Posey has said over the last year indicates that the team is going to rush Eldridge to the majors. Eldridge just turned 21 this past October, and when Posey was that same age, he was still playing college ball at Florida State. As fun as it would be to see Eldridge face Aaron Judge and the Yankees on Opening Night, it’s probably not in the cards.

Could a great performance during Cactus League play sway the Giants? It’s not impossible, but San Francisco’s front office probably won’t be swayed by what he does in Arizona. Eldridge will get somewhere in the range of 40 plate appearances during the upcoming exhibitions, which is too small a sample to determine if he’s improved upon the weak spots in his game.

So, if not Eldridge, then who? Well, the Giants don’t have to look far for another massive human being with massive power.

In another lifetime, maybe Jerar Encarnacion, standing at 6’4” and weighing about 240 pounds, is attacking quarterbacks alongside Nick Bosa. In this lifetime, he’s one of the strongest players in the majors, capable of doing real damage to the baseball.

Encarnacion, 28, barely played last year due to awful injury luck. He fractured his left hand when diving for a ball at the end of spring training, then strained his left oblique in June, then strained his right hamstring in August. Those injuries limited him to 19 games broken up over three stints.

The allure of Encarnacion is the same now as it was last year. He can generate eye-popping exit velocities, and he’s capable of playing left field, right field and first base. He won’t provide Gold Glove-caliber defense in the outfield, but he looked plenty capable at the corners last season.

Encarnacion doesn’t need to have a monopoly on the DH spot either. Vitello can optimize the DH spot to either get guys half-days or capitalize on favorable matchups.

Eldridge, the Giants’ best position player prospect since Posey, will contribute with San Francisco at some point this season. When that day comes, it seems, will come after Opening Day. More repetitions at Triple-A Sacramento appear to be in store; the question is how many will be sufficient before Eldridge gets the call.