SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. >> The 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.”

With Burgos, Del Pozo and Small having been reassigned, the Giants’ remaining options for a second left-handed reliever aside from Erik Miller are Joey Lucchesi, Antonio Jimenez, Helcris Olivarez and Enny Romero. Of those four, Lucchesi (1 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 0 K’s) and Romero (4 IP, 1 ER, 5 K’s) are the only two who have major-league experience.

Harrison rocked in win over Arizona

Kyle Harrison, who is battling for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, allowed five earned runs over 1 2/3 innings as the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11-5, at Salt River Fields.

“Obviously, the first inning wasn’t great and it doesn’t feel good, but sometimes, you have those type of days in spring training,” said Melvin. “Today was one of those days for a lot of pitchers.”

All of the Diamondbacks’ damage against Harrison was in the first inning, a frame where the left-hander allowed five runs and recorded one out. Harrison’s first inning went as follows: single, double, single, sacrifice fly, walk, home run, triple. Harrison was pulled after allowing the three-bagger to Alek Thomas, but toed the rubber again in the second inning because of spring training’s re-entry rules.

Harrison settled down in the second inning, retiring the side and inducing an inning-ending double play after allowing a one-out single. In the third, Harrison allowed a leadoff double to Josh Naylor and struck out Eugneio Suárez before his afternoon was officially over.

Along with the results, Harrison’s velocity trended downward compared to his first appearance of the spring. In his Cactus League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers, Harrison sat in the 91-92 mph range and occasionally touched 93 mph as he threw two scoreless innings. Against the Diamondbacks, Harrison’s average four-seam fastball clocked in at 91.2 mph. Last season, for comparison, Harrison’s average four-seam fastball velocity was 92.5 mph.

Over at Papago Park, Hayden Birdsong, also in contention for the fifth spot in the rotation, allowed two earned runs over 2 1/3 innings with three strikeouts against minor-league competition. Including his Cactus League appearances, Birdsong has allowed three earned runs over 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts.

Notable

• Along with Birdsong, Opening Day starter Logan Webb threw 3 1/3 innings at Papago Park, allowing one run (zero earned runs) with no walks and six strikeouts.

• Willy Adames hit his first homer of the spring, a towering 417-foot, 105.3-mph blast that cleared the center-field fences. After going 2-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBIs, Adames is now hitting .412/.474/1.062 in Cactus League play.