After 'taste of success' with 2024 Marlins, Jonah Bride wants 'way more of it'

Jonah Bride emerged as a great hitter for the Miami Marlins during the second half of the 2024 season. How does he plan to build upon that? A few weeks in advance of spring training, Bride joins Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout on Unfiltered to reflect on the pros and cons of his first year in Miami, all of the organizational changes that the Marlins have made this offseason, Ichiro Suzuki's election into the Baseball Hall of Fame and more.

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Bride snuck onto the 2024 Opening Day roster in the aftermath of the Jon Berti trade, but spent most of the season's first half with Triple-A Jacksonville. He had a permanent roster spot from July 4 onward and his production really took off following the July 30 trade deadline. The right-handed-hitting infielder slashed .284/.372/.497 with a 136 wRC+ and 11 home runs over his final 56 games.

The vast majority of Bride's defensive reps came at first base, but he wasn't satisfied with his performance there (-1 DRS/-2 OAA). "When you're in the big leagues, everything speeds up much more," Bride tells Fish On First. "I'm just trying to be more comfortable over there, increasing the speed side to side and the explosiveness, the diet. All those things will help...I'm definitely focusing on defense."

Bride was previously unaware of the extreme splits he had when facing starting pitchers compared to relief pitchers. "That really made me think about how I need to have a much better preparation going in and facing these relievers...Those are definitely eye-opening to me."

In 2025, Bride will be working with a completely different Marlins coaching staff led by Clayton McCullough.

"I have gotten to talk with a lot of them," Bride says. "Definitely bringing an exciting vibe and a lot of energy...Individually, just gonna work with them. We're gonna have an idea as a team how to approach pitchers and stuff, but it was good to hear that, 'we're not gonna teach one move.' Not everybody can do the exact same thing and look the same way."

On the heels of his second-half success and in the absence of accomplished veterans competing for playing time at the corner infield spots, the 29-year-old looks like a lock to crack the Opening Day roster again this season.