Former Giants Gold Glover Bashes Team’s “Weird” Prospect Moves

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Bryce Eldridge prepares for his MLB debut against the Diamondbacks on September 15, 2025.

There’s perhaps nobody in the world, outside of maybe Bryce Eldridge’s family, that is a bigger fan of the San Francisco Giants’ 6-foot-7 top prospect than JT Snow.

Snow, a retired 6-time Gold Glover who played for the Giants for a decade, has been coaching and working with Eldridge throughout his time in the minor leagues on his first base defense.

Snow recently said on the KNBR show “Dirty Work” that he has a “special relationship” with Eldridge, and felt like a “proud papa” watching him make his MLB Debut on Monday September 15, 2025.

But sometimes, passion like Snow has for Eldridge can manifest into frustration with people who mistreat the person you care about.

Ever since Eldridge was called up on Monday, JT Snow has been vocal in his criticism of how the Giants are utilizing him. Eldridge will reportedly only be used as a designated hitter against right-handed pitching for the rest of this season. He will not play the field or hit against lefties.

Snow, who has seen plenty of Eldridge’s at-bats over the years, was furious about this. In a now-deleted post on X about the Giants’ lineup on Tuesday, Snow ranted about the Giants leaving Eldridge out of the lineup against a left-handed pitcher.

“Bryce is not in the lineup tonight? What the….,” Snow wrote (h/t SFGate). “he can hit lefties, I saw him rake lefties in Sac. cmon, let him play, time to stop coddling players, no reason to watch tonight, bummed.”

The Giants played Wilmer Flores at first base and Rafael Devers at DH. They started fast offensively, scoring 5 runs in the first 3 innings. But ultimately, they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.

Eldridge Crushes Lefties In The Minors

To his credit, Snow is right about Eldridge holding his own against left-handed pitchers in the minor leagues.

Against left-handed pitching this season, Eldridge hit .270 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 97 plate appearances.

In contrast, he hit .255 against right-handers. He did have 25 home runs in 339 plate appearances against righties, however.

But Snow still may be letting his personal feelings about Eldridge get the best of him just a little bit.

In the aforementioned appearance on “Dirty Work” on KNBR, Snow seemed to hint that he doesn’t think the Giants should have ever traded for Rafael Devers, likely because it could block Eldridge’s path to start at first base.

“Looking back, I don’t know if I make that trade, because I’d never trade pitching. Pitching is so important, I’d never trade pitching. They traded pitching for Devers, I get it. I think Bryce is going to be OK. This guy’s going to hit 25-30 homers in a season.”

Devers started at first base over Eldridge in both of Eldridge’s first two MLB games.

Snow was also critical of the Giants’ timing in calling up Eldridge, saying they should have summoned him to the MLB weeks if not months ago.

His boldest take of all was that he thinks Eldridge will become a franchise player.

“I think he can be the Giants first baseman for the next 15 years,” Snow said.

Eldridge’s Path To Playing Time Next Season

Snow’s passion about Eldridge is admirable, and shared by lots of Giants fans who have seen his home run highlights online and dreamed about what he could be capable of.

And should the Giants take more risks with him this season? Perhaps. They’re slipping out of playoff contention after four straight losses anyway, so why not look to the future?

But Eldridge can still have plenty of success with Rafael Devers in town. He can even succeed if the Giants bring back Dominic Smith.

His path to playing time actually sits with whether or not the Giants keep or move on from Wilmer Flores.

Flores has been an excellent Giant for six seasons now. But after the excellent recent play of Devers and Smith, Flores has essentially become a bench bat who only plays against left handed pitching.

Flores is not as versatile as he used to be, he’s lost a step, and he’s not getting any younger. The Giants probably should move on from him and prioritize bringing back Dominic Smith alongside Devers and Eldridge.

Yes, that gives the Giants three left-handed hitting options at DH and first base. But all of them can hit lefties decently well. Smith is the more experienced defensive option if Devers and Eldridge struggle, but both Devers and Eldridge will still get plenty of at-bats.

What do you think, Giants fans? Is JT Snow right about the Giants’ handling of Eldridge?

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and Las Vegas Raiders for heavy.com. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football, and writes about the NBA and MLB. He has previously covered the USC Trojans, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman