The Giants may have tipped their hand on a move that would have sounded strange a few months ago: Bryce Eldridge at the top of the lineup.
Since the trade deadline, San Francisco has been showing more and more interest in using the left-handed slugger as its leadoff hitter of the future. That’s a departure from the role Luis Arraez filled after the team traded away the fan favorite second baseman, and it raises the obvious question of who takes over the job now that Arraez is gone. He wasn’t the only player the Giants used there this season, but he was the one they turned to most often.
Eldridge has already batted leadoff in three games, and it will be worth watching whether that becomes a regular test over the final stretch. On paper, the fit isn’t as outlandish as it first sounds. His .347 on-base percentage is the best on the team since Arraez was dealt, and getting on base is the whole point of the spot.
The path is different from Arraez’s, though. Arraez worked the top of the order by grinding out contact and finding ways to poke balls into the outfield. Eldridge gets there with walks, and he has piled up 38 of them this season, second on the team only to Rafael Devers’ 48.
There’s also a chance the Giants could split the role based on opposing starters, with Eldridge handling right-handers and someone else getting the nod against lefties. Even that wouldn’t be a major surprise, especially since his splits don’t point to a huge drop-off versus left-handed pitching.
Against righties, he’s hitting .247/.353/.441. Against lefties, he’s at .264/.329/.417.
And in 2026 baseball, this kind of thing isn’t nearly as odd as it used to be. Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber have both shown that a power bat can live at the top of the order and still make sense.
Jung Hoo Lee remains another option, and at first glance he looks like the more traditional answer. He’s the club’s best contact hitter now and seems like the cleanest leadoff profile on the roster.
But his results in the role have been mixed. In 16 games batting leadoff this season, he’s hit .265/.296/.382.
Over his career, he’s posted a .248/.310/.359 line as a leadoff hitter, which is worse than every other spot in the lineup except cleanup.
Maybe that’s just not his comfort zone, even if the Giants clearly signed him with the idea that he would be their everyday leadoff man.
For now, though, the bigger point is simple: if San Francisco wants to try something unconventional, this is the moment. With the playoffs out of reach, these last few months are built for testing ideas the club might have been too cautious to try earlier.
If they want to get weird, now’s the time. And if the Giants really want to lean into the experiment, maybe Eldridge’s old two-way prospect label even gets a fresh look on the mound.
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