LOS ANGELES – Are the Giants into developing? Or winning? The questionable way they’re handling 21-year-old hot-shot prospect Bryce Eldridge is a case study in how challenging it is in either case.

When Eldridge was called up from Triple-A Sacramento on May 4, Buster Posey cited two reasons: (a) Eldridge’s improved at-bats and defense around first base and (b) the need to boost the offense.

Ten games into this showcase/experiment/desperate bid to save the season, it has been underwhelming on both ends. Eldridge isn’t hitting, and the Giants aren’t giving him consistent playing time to figure it out, an unfortunate quandary that isn’t an optimal fit for anybody.

Eldridge was out of the lineup again Thursday, and the Giants fell 5-2 to the Dodgers, finishing a four-game split. Jung Hoo Lee hit an inside-the-park home run, the first Giant to do so at Dodger Stadium, but the Giants got just one other hit and dropped to 18-26.

Eldridge is 2-for-21 (.095 batting average) with nine strikeouts. In the 10 games since his arrival, the Giants are 5-5, and he started six but just once at first base, the position he dedicated himself to learning the past two years. He pinch-hit once.

It’s a problematic situation, in large part because of the roster configuration that includes two other first basemen/DH types, Rafael Devers and Casey Schmitt. Schmitt plays other infield spots but only if Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, or Luis Arráez sit out, which is extremely rare.

It would have been a softer landing spot for Eldridge had the Giants been a .500 team or better, but they’re trying to chase wins with their main guys. So Eldridge waits for opportunities, and Giants fans continue to grow impatient because they want to see him play every day in a season that has gone sideways.

The Giants had hoped when they promoted the 6-foot-7 slugger, it would be for good. Manager Tony Vitello said Monday he thinks Eldridge is “here for the long haul,” and management believes there’s more value in the limited big-league plate appearances, especially if some are high leverage such as the ones in extra innings last week, than a regular flow of ABs in the minors.

Eldridge knows firsthand the assignments are far tougher in the majors. He started two of the Dodger games and faced L.A.’s most heralded pitchers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, and went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts. Perhaps he would have experienced more favorable matchups had he faced Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan, though the Giants did very little against Sheehan Thursday.

After the game, the Giants flew to Sacramento for a weekend series against the A’s. They’ll play at the same field that’s shared by the Sacramento River Cats, their top farm team, and the question is this: Which player will be left at the state capital when catcher Daniel Susac is reinstated from the injured list as early as Friday?

Susac’s rehab assignment in Triple-A is ending, and the Giants must make a corresponding roster move and decide whether to keep three catchers – along with Jesús Rodríguez and Eric Haase, who homered twice Tuesday – or demote someone else to the minors.

Christian Koss could be the guy. The infielder is rarely used, getting just 14 at-bats (he’s hitting .071). Or Rodríguez, to hone his catching skills. If it’s Haase, who’s out of options, he’d need to clear waivers to remain in the organization, but the Giants could use his bat.

Then there’s Eldridge, the organization’s most cherished prospect in years who’s trying to do and say all the right things.

“I’m just going to keep trusting the team and what they’ve got planned for me,” Eldridge said. “I’m very confident I’m going to play this game for a long time. Goals will change as the years go on, but right now, I’m just going to do what I’m told and continue to work hard every day and get ready for every at-bat.”

The Giants could always do something extreme to better facilitate Eldridge. Such as rotate Schmitt throughout the infield so that everyone is forced to rest every fifth day or so. (So far, management has remained hesitant to tell the veterans to sit out.) Or trade Arráez and make Schmitt the everyday second baseman, a tough scenario for fans of Arráez’s unique hitting approach and improved defensive skills.

An alternative is sending Eldridge back to Sacramento. Nothing seems truly ideal. Meantime, he’s continuing to work on his swing and approach in the batting cage, which doesn’t come close to real game reps and real big-league competition, but he understands the positional dilemma.

“It’s a good problem to have,” Eldridge said. “We’re here to win, and I’m here to win and help the team win. So I view it as a good thing that we’ve got a lot of good options at the same position. Like I said, I’m ready to help out however they want me to.”

Eldridge tried to make the best of his time at Dodger Stadium. Last September, his first month in  the big leagues, he played three games here, but it wasn’t his Chavez Ravine debut. In 2022, he was at Dodger Stadium for a high school all-star game days before the Dodgers hosted Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game.

It was a valuable experience for the then-17-year-old despite not displaying his best stuff. He pitched the second inning, yielded one hit, struck out three batters, and hit 95 mph on the radar gun, but he also issued two walks, threw two wild pitches (one that the catcher should have stopped), and committed an error. He later played first base and grounded out in his only at-bat.

Still, a memorable day for a kid in an iconic big-league setting.

“Everyone’s dream is playing under the bright lights,” Eldridge said. “This is the epitome of that. You could say the same thing for San Francisco. That’s what makes the rivalry between us and them so special. Two huge markets. Two beautiful stadiums.”

Now it’s a matter of figuring out Eldridge’s involvement in it all.