Tony Vitello shares Giants' expectations for Bryce Eldridge, Jesús Rodríguez

Giants manager Tony Vitello speaks to reporters before San Francisco 's game against the San Diego Padres on Monday at Oracle Park.

Tony Vitello shares Giants' expectations for Bryce Eldridge, Jesús Rodríguez originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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Yes, both guys are in the lineup.

haven't been posted yet.

Catcher for Jess, DH for Bryce.

Seeing a righty on the mound today, so it'd be nice to have a big lefty threat in there.

obviously Bryce has done well, and then, you know, for, for really the whole group, we talked about it post-game yesterday.

There was a lot of things to talk about, but one main theme was six-hour flight, emotional loss.

There's a lot to, I don't wanna even say recover, more prepare for today.

But part of it, too, is it's been a grind with the double header and all that, so it's not like we can change, change out like a hockey team and get nine fresh guys out there, but it'd be good to have some fresh legs for this game in particular.

How do you anticipate incorporating Bryce and, and Jess going forward as that happens?

Well, I, I, I think, you know, the nice thing about Casey is he's a Swiss Army knife, and he can play first base.

And then Coste, because of, you know, some of the injury stuff or just guy, guys out, mainly Rafi, he's earned the ability and, and, put in the work to be able to play over there.

But, you know, Bryce is a true first baseman, so if there is a day Rafi's not over there, he can do that.

But I think mainly it's more It's the number one topic.

If we had an hour, you guys would wanna grill me about hitting stuff, and we obviously , everybody knows that statistically.

You can back it up.

We have a group of hitters that have potential, but we haven't had anything click or get in the right rhythm.

We've tried a few different things.

Bryce has earned the right to be at this level, and maybe even did so prior to today.

but if anything it'll change it up and, you know, potential to add a spark.

But, you know, alls we're looking for him to do is be who he is.

And the one thing that you know about him, if, if he makes contact, the ball's gonna jump off the bat.

Bryce said he's feeling sexy at the plate.

What have you seen, as far as the, the month he had in triple-A and right back- I, I think just the presence in general, and he kind of picked up where he left off, where the walks were really up.

I mean, you get a guy with, power potential, you want a guy to swing freely.

but at the same time, you can't make use of that potential or, or that power if you're swinging at pitches that n- you know, Manny Ramirez or Nolan Berry could've hit out either.

I mean, he was as selective as anybody, so it's, it's a good name to bring up.

So I've kind of seen that more mature selection process at the plate lead to walks and help him wait out pitchers and get the pitches.

Because they know who he is.

Those guys know who he is.

Obviously, the guys at triple-A do, too.

he's not only a name, but he's, he's a guy that's got a presence because if you do make a mistake, he can hit it a long way.

Is Bryce gonna play every day?

I don't I wouldn't say every day.

I mean, again, that, me getting to know you guys, that kind of puts you in a box where it's like, well, every day is every day.

but I think he's gonna He's gotta be given room for, for error.

I mean, Will Brennan is a good example.

Coste is a good example.

a little bit circumstantial, to be honest with you, of us, you know, hunting down wins or searching for runs.

Those guys have gotten pinched out a little bit.

And I bring up Will Brennan as an example because to do what he was asked to do is just get an at bat here and there, I mean, you gotta be a pro, and you gotta accept the challenge.

But you know and I know it's not that easy.

So the one thing we don't wanna do with Bryce, who's a younger player, is y- you know, just sporadically give him at bats and expect him to produce every single time in order to get rewarded with more playing time.

I think there's gotta be a longer leash there if that's appropriate.

But he'll be a DH and a first baseman?

Yeah, but I, I think, you know, for today he's gonna DH, and then he's You know, before this series is over, he's gonna get another start somewhere, and will get more at bats and be given a fair chance to contribute to the offense.

and again, to me a pinch hit is a fair chance, but, i- it certainly makes life easier if you can come to the park and accumulate some reps, you know, find yourself a little bit.

Tony, it seems like you might have to do a little bit of mixing and matching to get Bryce in the lineup.

That might mean some of the veteran guys maybe getting a day off or two, and it's no secret that some of them have been struggling.

What have the conversations been as far as, you know, Bryce has been hitting well.

He's someone that can provide a spark, that, you know, one of them may need to take a day off in order to get him in the lineup?

Yeah, I think the, the conversation that we've had with, with you guys is about keeping guys fresh.

And, you know, it's a little bit of a conundrum.

You're You wanna keep guys fresh throughout the season, but what winning does is it, it buys you room for error, if that's the right way to say it.

It, it buys you a little more freedom to try this or try that, whether it relate to pitching or position players.

And we, we haven't, y- you know, we haven't really had that to this point.

Well, it's time to drop our guard down and get a fresh start to the season and just talk about today.

And one thing that we're gonna do is y- you know, kind of sort out the puzzle of how do we involve everybody.

and the negative to that is gonna be, you call it ego or pride or whatever, a guy's just eager to get out there to find the best version of themselves.

there's gonna be days where they're not playing.

But the benefit of that is when they are playing, they're not gonna have any excuses, and not that they have, but they're gonna be fresh of mind and fresh of body.

How would you describe your relationship with Bryce?

With just maybe the short amount of time you've had with him here, maybe speak about the way he went about his business or just his character overall.

Yeah.

You know, known him since he was younger.

He's, he's really mature for his age.Um, on the field, but also just socially in general.

And then our relationship, you know, stopped for a while when he committed to another school, he goes off and plays pro ball.

It's always kind of fun to watch those guys.

First of all, you want to think you're right.

and then, you know, when Otani was here, the topic of two way guys, it's so fun to watch guys that probably could have played professionally at two different spots on the mound or with the bat.

So again, as a fan and a little bit of a scout fun to follow his career, we reunite in Arizona.

I accidentally or subconsciously hit him with a fungo when he wasn't looking.

I think he should have been looking, but nonetheless, I hit him with a soft line drive with a fungo.

And, and we, we said that was kind of our, our karma moment where the past is the past, the recruiting part.

And I'm, I'm saying it lightheartedly.

And then from that point on, I feel like we've gotten really close because he's easy to have conversations with, you know, you get the spring training at the end of the road.

he didn't have the best spring training, but he's got a ton of potential.

We could have, you know, gone two ways with him.

And we sent him to get more at bats and, you know, he, he was up to the challenge.

He had the exact reaction you want.

He had a little bit of edge to him, like I'll show you.

but also an understanding and acceptance of like, let me know what you guys need me to do to prepare to be at this level.

So that's the summary, what I got for you.

And he's an easy hang and a good dude.

He's only going to add to the locker room, the dugout.

But again, we want to get him as many reps as possible in order to be fair to his career and show what he can do.

Tony, where, where does Casey Schmidt fit in?

Will he play less?

And because he's- Yeah He played all around the infield, but could you give him, maybe try to give him reps in the outfield?

We're going to play him.

Outfield at all?

Yeah.

Yeah.

right field's fine.

center field might be a stretch, but, play him anywhere.

I, I think, you know, my mentor was always quick to point out, and I, I don't mind saying this, this is maybe more of an office conversation, but, I had a mentor that was always quick to point out why wouldn't younger freshmen like ask, "Why do you always pitch this guy in this situation?"

Or, "Why is this guy, you know, the guy you lean on in this situation or that situation?"

And if we take a step back, the guy you probably keep his at-bats the most simple is Casey.

And, I think if we just lined up all of our guys prior to the season, it would be diff- very difficult to say who's the best hitter.

You could maybe say this guy's the best power guy.

This guy's the best contact guy.

they've all got different attributes and, and Casey's one of several guys we got that are good hitters, but he's probably performing the best right now because he keeps things the most simple.

And that doesn't mean he's not competitive.

He's come over to the dugout, and the helmet's gone a little too hard into the helmet rack sometimes, but then he moves right back on, and he's as close to what we have right now of kind of playing the game like a little leaguer.

And, you know, yeah, you got to have some savvy and some intelligence, but a lot of times, and sometimes when you're struggling, the best thing to do is just go out there and play the game like a little leaguer, you know, with some passion and some fun and some relaxation, a little bit of looseness, but also you want to compete.

You win in little league, you get ice cream.

You don't, you don't.

How do you, how do you imagine that nighttime breaking down a catcher?

probably a, a little bit of well-balanced.

again, keeping guys fresh I think is something that's more important today than any day, but in the long run as well.

and then Haas is a guy who can play the outfield.

I mean, we do have the benefit of having some guys on the bench that are very versatile.

They're not pigeonholed into one spot.

So if we want to do something late in the game, which we just haven't, by nature you could say coaching staff, because it is a coaching staff, I'll t- I'll take ultimate responsibility.

Hadn't been aggressive enough about making some moves.

We just haven't had as many opportunities or we've been a little limited on what guys can do off the bench.

He's yet another guy who can go in there and catch.

He can go to the outfield.

He can pinch run.

He can pinch bunt.

He can pinch hit as a right-handed hitter.

so I think Haas is the key to that.

And then of course, Jesus is versatile enough to play a bunch of positions, but you know, we do want to give him opportunities to catch too.

Kind of, kind of Bryce's, you know, same theme is it's not fair to give a guy one game, and if it goes great, don't give him any more, and if it doesn't, don't give him, you know, so.

Do you see Miller as a 15-day thing or, is it just too soon to tell?

I, I see it as that at the most.

And we can backdate that a little bit because this started, a while ago and, and hadn't been available, probably even prior to some people knowing about.

so that's, that's all I see it as.

And, and, he'll be back ready to go.

Same, same injury that he had at spring training?

yeah, for the most part.

For the most part.

What's your challenge as manager in a losing streak like this as far as saying anything, or do you rely on the leaders?

How do you kind of navigate these waters in this streak?

No, I, I think if, geez, we got a lot of cameras and a lot of I'm sure there's already darts being thrown, which is fine.

But, I, I'll, I'll, I'll gladly take the brunt of anything because if, if I've, if I've picked up on the scent a, a, a lot, these guys have let other people write narratives for them, either literally on paper or just mentally a little too much.

so I'll say backtracking to my definitive answers, I'd say if anything been a little too, too back on the heels and given a little bit too much freedom, for either leaders to do things or, or, you know, this is what we got at second base today or at the plate, and if you guys want to do that or what's best for you.

So I think it's the opposite at this point.

there was a lot said in the last couple of days and, it's time for us to push forward and, you know, not just the coaches, but every- everybody should have a little bit of edge to them.

if anything, our fan base deserves that at the very least, but also what we've done has not worked.

so there, there's got to be a change in mentality, attitude, and then the actions that go with it too.

You just can't have thoughts.

So just, just, just to clarify, you, you, you will put, you will try Schmidt at a corner outfield?

Yeah, for sure.

I mean, you haven't played him, but- Yeah, why not?

Will you give him reps?

I mean, I'm saying that as- Why not?

I appreciate you laughing.

Thank goodness.

you know- So not really we, behind the scenes, we've, we've, we've worked at it.

We've dug up the, you know, I think '22 was the last time he's been up there.

Okay.

there's no reason as an athlete he can't do that.

but we, you know, we need to do it intelligently and match up pitchers and things like that, but it's, it's certainly a possibility.

Okay.

Have you talked to Bryce today?

How is he feeling?

Yeah, he's energetic.

he likes what he's walking into.

I'll say that.

he's, he's a smart kid and, every day's got a, it's a clean slate with this game.

if you let yesterday affect today too much, you'll get what we've gotten.

And, regardless how tonight goes, there's a, there's a flavor in the locker room and in the dugout, and, and he likes what he's jumping into, I think.

And, the good thing about him, even though he's a young guy, he's not going to sit back on his heels, and he'll have that push forward and that edge a little bit too.

So it's good to have him around.

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