Written By Mauricio Segura // Photo: Golden Bay Times Graphics Dept.
SEP 17, 2025
J.T. Snow, the former Giants first baseman beloved in San Francisco, is not holding back. He’s made it clear this week that while he’s thrilled for Bryce Eldridge’s major league debut, he believes the organization dragged its feet in giving the 20-year-old prospect his chance. Snow’s criticism centers on two key issues: timing of Eldridge’s call-up and how he’s been used since then.
Eldridge, who had been working his way through the minors in 2025, was promoted to the Giants after an injury to Dominic Smith at first base late in the season. Snow says that push should have happened sooner, and he would have pulled the trigger once September began, especially when the team was struggling. “Why not call him up now? Let him play,” Snow said, noting that Eldridge had shown enough in Triple-A to merit more than just a late-season audition.
What makes Snow’s perspective interesting is that he’s not speaking from afar; he spent time in Sacramento with Eldridge during the summer. Based on that experience, Snow believes Eldridge is more ready than the front office has allowed. He takes issue especially with the decision to sit Eldridge against left-handed pitchers, a move Snow feels smacks of overprotectiveness. In the minors this season, Eldridge hit .270 in 97 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. Snow argues that the Giants are coddling Eldridge by avoiding those matchups when in fact the young slugger has proven he can hold his own.
Another provocative note in Snow’s critique is his questioning of the team’s acquisition of Rafael Devers, at least in hindsight. Snow said that, given Eldridge’s presence and potential, he might have passed on dealing pitching in order to get Devers. The implication is that Eldridge could serve, and possibly should serve, as a long-term solution at first base, giving the Giants a homegrown cornerstone rather than leaning heavily on external star power.
Snow doesn’t gloss over Eldridge’s rough debut where he went hitless in three at-bats, striking out once. One of those outs, however, was a towering fly ball that nearly left the yard. Snow clearly sees beyond the box score. The tools, the makeup, and the readiness are there. He just thinks the Giants could have leaned in earlier, let Eldridge confront tougher pitchers sooner, and taken advantage of a slump in the big club to give a spark.
From the front office's point of view, there has been caution. Buster Posey, the Giants’ president of baseball operations, has stated Eldridge needed development time both at the plate and in the field. The injury to Dominic Smith opened a door, and Eldridge walked through it, but only near the end of the season.
Snow’s argument isn’t grounded in reactionism; he isn’t calling for reckless promotion. He just believes Eldridge’s readiness showed itself earlier, and delaying has both cost the kid opportunity and perhaps cost the team an infusion of youthful energy when they needed it. Snow projects Eldridge capable of 25 to 30 home runs per season long term, and even says he could see Eldridge as the first baseman in San Francisco for the next 15 years. That kind of faith in a prospect doesn’t come cheaply.
What this all signals is tension, not scandal or chaos, but a classic struggle in baseball: when to give a top prospect his shot versus protecting him from getting exposed before he’s fully ready. The Giants are in playoff chase mode, and every roster spot and at-bat matters. For fans, the critical question now is how the club uses Eldridge the rest of this season, however short, and how they adjust in 2026. Do they continue to sandbag left-handed matchups? Do they let him play every day? Can Eldridge thrive if mixed into the lineup rather than sheltered?
In the end, Snow stands firmly in Eldridge’s corner. He’s betting on talent, on character, and on timing. Whether the Giants will follow the same path or stay cautious may well shape both Eldridge’s immediate impact and the organization’s trajectory in the near future. For someone who once patrolled first base at Oracle Park, Snow’s voice carries weight. The question is, will the folks upstairs listen?
