SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. >> The San Francisco Giants announced their first wave of spring training roster cuts, a list of players headlined by top prospect Bryce Eldridge and outfielder Marco Luciano.

Luciano and right-handed pitcher Mason Black were the two Giants who were optioned. Eldridge, right-handers Kai-Wei Teng and Cole Waites, and left-handers Raymond Burgos, Miguel Del Pozo and Ethan Small, were reassigned to minor league camp.

For Eldridge and Luciano, the move to minor-league camp will allow them to receive the consistent playing time and at-bats that they didn’t receive with the big league club. They’ll also have the opportunity to grow more comfortable with their respective positions on defense, a weak point in both of their games.

Eldridge, 20, was never going to make the Opening Day roster out of camp, especially considering his defense at first base remains a work in progress. Eldridge impressed during his first Cactus League game hitting a 450-foot home run in the Giants’ opener against the Texas Rangers, but ultimately finished 2-for-11 with eight strikeouts during the few plate appearances he received.

“It’s great that Bryce got a taste here,” said manager Bob Melvin. “Obviously, his first game and the second at-bat was pretty impressive. “It is difficult when you get one at-bat a game, and it’s typically later on in the game. So, this was just all about getting him here and getting him a taste of this thing.”Melvin said that Eldridge, who committed 18 errors in 100 games last season, has made “big strides” on defense during his time in big-league camp. It is currently unclear where Eldridge will start the year with Double-A Richmond or Triple-A Sacramento. Melvin added that there isn’t a timetable for Eldridge to reach the majors, emphasizing that the Giants don’t want to rush their top prospect.

“Once he gets it all together and feels comfortable defensively and puts up big numbers, that’s when you’ll see him here,” Melvin said of Eldridge, who .291 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs over four levels last year. “Whether that’s this year at some point in time, I’m not sure. But he moved up pretty quickly last year because of his bat.”

Luciano entered camp having transitioned from infield to outfield, a position he hasn’t played during his time in the Giants’ system. The 23-year-old was a competitor for the Giants’ fourth outfield spot along with Luis Matos and Grant McCray, but Luciano was at a disadvantage because of his inexperience. Luciano’s best chance of making the Opening Day roster would be with his bat, but he never found his groove at the plate.

Like Eldridge, Luciano had an impressive swing early in camp when he nearly cleared the batter’s eye at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Also like Eldridge, Luciano ultimately struggled overall at the plate, going 2-for-19 with three walks and five strikeouts. Despite the drastic shakeup, Melvin believes Luciano has handled the position change “beautifully.”

“I’ve had those conversations with Marco a few times last year and he’s handled himself well,” Melvin said. “I don’t know inside what he’s thinking, but he always takes it well and he tells me, ‘I’m going to go down there and work.’ I think he did look forward to starting games and getting full games opposed to coming in a little bit later.”

Black, 25, appeared in nine games (eight starts) for the Giants last season as a rookie, posting a 6.44 ERA with 31 strikeouts over 36 1/3 innings. This spring, the right-hander allowed five earned runs over 3 1/3 innings. Melvin said consistency will be one of the main keys for Black to get back to the majors, noting how the right-hander’s velocity and command can vary.

“I told him there’s some guys ahead of him right now,” Melvin said. “Once these starters start to get stretched out a little bit more, the innings become a little more difficult for a guy like him. We want him to go down there and get stretched out. He’s been in the big leagues before. It’s going to be performance that gets him back.”