2025 Depth Charts: 1b
Enter the Big Man
Photo Credit: Mick Anders | Richmond Flying Squirrels
So far in this year’s Depth Charts series, we’ve looked at:
I’m sure this has been a lousy off-season for the family of Bryce Eldridge. Every day another story, another question, another podcast, another clickbait article — and I shouldn’t overlook, another There R Giants’ free for all mailbag — positing the question of whether the Giants are engaging in trade talks around Eldridge.
It’s a rite of passage. Serious prospects who are close to major league ready and who don’t have the luxury (or curse?) of coming up through a rebuilding or moribund major league organization will always have to make it through the winter of their trade rumor discontent. It’s natural and it makes perfect sense for clubs trying to put their major league roster in order for the coming season — and hopefully a successful run at the playoffs — to considering leveraging the tradeoff between controllable years and the small gap that exists between “can’t miss” and “been there/done that.”
And, of course, the Ghost of Trade Rumors Present never visits a home without being accompanied by its Krampus-like companion, Knit Picking. Because all rumors must be teased out by an in-depth conversation about why said top-grade prospect isn’t really going to turn out to be that good and why it’s good to trade on all that potential now, countered, of course, by why they’re actually going to turn out to be legendary and all present-day fans will hand down a horrifying regret at having traded them to generations of their ancestors.
Tale as old as baseball time.
The truth is, with their top prospect reaching the majors at just 20 years old, the Giants are in an enviable situation. Yes, we are going to find some level of roster redundancy in today’s post — but this is far from being another Willie McCovey/Orlando Cepeda situation, which created so much angst back in the days of my wee childhood fandom. The existence of the DH makes the situation manageable. As Buster Posey dryly noted at the winter meetings, two players for two positions isn’t exactly the Rubik’s cube of lineup problems. While the front office would be remiss to not consider all paths to success, they can satisfactorily reflect on the idea that having two left-handed sluggers in the middle of your lineup capable of blasting 30-40 home runs a year is certainly a good one!
While I’ll admit I held off on this particular depth chart through the winter meetings jussssst in case some momentum developed in the other direction, I still think the chances that Eldridge is anywhere but San Francisco come opening day are relatively thin. So, let’s plunge in to a depth chart that is really the extreme version of the top-heavy trend we’ve seen before in this series. Enjoy the top level, because the step down is a real doozy!
