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SAN FRANCISCO — With Dominic Smith likely to miss the rest of the regular season with a right hamstring strain, the Giants are turning to another left-handed-hitting first baseman to try to boost their playoff hopes down the stretch.
The Giants are calling up Bryce Eldridge, the clubâ€s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline, to make his Major League debut, according to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Eldridge, 20, is expected to join the team in Arizona this week and could be an option to play first base or serve as the designated hitter now that Smith is out. The 6-foot-7 slugger is batting .249 with an .836 OPS and 18 home runs over 66 games with Triple-A Sacramento this year. He also crushed seven homers at Double-A Richmond earlier this season, giving him 25 across both levels.
Eldridge had hoped to be developed as a two-way player after he was selected by the Giants with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, but he ultimately committed to becoming a full-time first baseman last year. His defense isnâ€t quite as refined as his bat, but the Giants believe heâ€s made major strides at first base after working with instructors like Will Clark and J.T. Snow.
Eldridge is known for his huge raw power, though he also has some swing-and-miss in his game, as heâ€s struck out 88 times in 286 plate appearances (30.7%) at Triple-A Sacramento this year. The Giants will have to clear spots for him on the 40- and 28-man rosters to officially bring him into the fold on Monday.
The Giants (75-74) are currently 1 1/2 games behind the Mets for the third National League Wild Card spot with 13 games left to play, though the deficit is essentially 2 1/2 games since New York holds the tiebreaker.
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