Giants Talk: Why Bryce Eldridge will spend time in left field this spring
"Giants Talk" hosts Cole Kuiper and Alex Pavlovic explain why Bryce Eldridge is spending time in left field for San Francisco in spring training.
Giants Talk: Why Bryce Eldridge will spend time in left field this spring originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
Well, that is a pretty eventful twist.
We kind of addressed it in a mailbag question already, but I want to, I wanna read this quote from Tony Vitello on the Bryce Eldridge playing left field situation.
Tony said, "I think Bryce is a very unique weapon with his bat.
I think you're always going to be itching for the next fifteen years, whoever you are, if you're on his team, you're gonna be itching for ways to get him out there in the lineup."
that's kind of what you and I had been saying.
You know, playing left field gives him a lot more versatility and lets him fit in a lot better into this lineup.
lets them, I don't know, do some more interesting things with the DH position over the next decade.
Yeah.
I- You know, one, this is expected.
it w- it was something we've teased a little bit here.
It's something I heard a little bit over the off season, that this would be part of the plan for him.
I'm glad they did it so quickly.
I'm glad it was just like: Let'syeah, let's just do it.
that they're on that page as well, and I, I think there are This is one of those things where, like, I look at their social media reaction to the initial tweet and just kinda wanna, like, respond to everybody with, like, "Pump the brakes."
if you are one of the people saying, "Great, Elliott Ramos was not good defensively last year, this gives them another option," you're insane, and- ...
I, I saw some of that today.
this is just adding something for Bryce, and one thing I, I talked to Tony today, and he was like: "Look, he's twenty-one.
Like, he has plenty of time.
He has plenty of energy.
This is a great time to do it.
Great time to get him comfortable," and, and Bryce, like, he was out there doing infield drills, doing first base drills with Ron Washington at eight thirty, and does a full workout at first base, and, and full batting practice, and then goes and takes fly balls for twenty minutes.
It's- he probably had the energy to go do it for seven more hours after that.
The other thing is with the roster construction, and this is the main thing for me right now, I think it's really important for twenty twenty-six that he's at least, like If this happens in June, and he has to go out there some night, which is not crazy, that he at least, like, feels comfortable and not like, "Never took a fly ball in high school, never played outfield until two thousand twenty-three when I, I played right field in, in San Jose," and now you're like, "Go and, go and play left field in the tenth inning because something weird happened."
So I think it's good for him to get those reps out there, and you kind of look at the makeup of this roster and, and the way it might work with Arias at second and Bryce and, and Rafael Devers, at first and DH, and we don't know what the outfield's fully gonna look like.
We don't know what the infield's fully gonna look like, but you kinda run out of spots to add versatility.
Yeah.
And there's a decent chance they carry four outfielders to start the year or at some point are carrying four outfielders.
And one of those backup guys, you know, a Christian Costa, Tyler Fitzgerald, they can go out there if needed.
Arias has actually played left field in the big leagues, so, like, he could in an emergency, but this is important, I think, to have another guy who could go out there one or two times this year, potentially, if needed.
He's not gonna start in left field.
he's not gonna take Elliott Ramos's spot.
It, it's just, this is a way to get some reps here in spring training and get comfortable with something that could come into play this year and I think will come into play down the line.
