Marlins acquire Jonah Bride from Athletics

Before closing the book entirely on a slow offseason, the Marlins announced a minor trade on Tuesday night. Miami acquired infielder Jonah Bride from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash considerations. Daniel Alvarez of El Extrabase was the first to report.

Bride is entering his age-28 season and has spent his entire career this far with Oakland. A 23rd-round pick from the 2018 MLB Draft, Bride enjoyed a .289/.395/.401 collegiate career mostly in the SEC at the University of South Carolina. A four-year collegiate player who also spent the 2020 COVID season idle, Bride was pushed hard by the A’s, playing at three MiLB levels in 2022 before making his big league debut that same season. He began 2023 back at AAA where he hit a loud .305/.432/.544 before being recalled to Oakland. In 40 games with the A’s this past year, Bride slashed an underwhelming .171/.286/.205.

Bride’s standout tool has always been exceptional plate discipline. In his minor league career, he racked up 265 walks to just 207 strikeouts. Despite struggles at the big league level so far with contact, Bride has still kept his swings at pitches mostly inside the zone, allowing him a 54/30 K/BB over his 293 plate appearances. The 5’10”, 210-pounder also shows solid athleticism and has shown the ability to take the field wherever he’s been needed. Over the course of his career, he’s played all over the infield, even slotting in as a catcher. His solid righty arm makes him best fit to play third base.

As he embarks on his career with Miami, Bride will need to find more barrels (only five of those through his first 201 batted balls vs. major league pitching). He was also hampered by a 50% ground ball rate with the A’s last year, wasting some of his hard-hit balls.

Overall, Bride controls the strike zone extremely well. Given his success in the upper minors, there is still the potential for him to become an above-average on-base threat, a fine asset the Marlins could incorporate regularly off the bench at multiple positions. Acquiring him at the cost of just cash considerations is a good bet to make. He will come to Spring Training with a plus chance of making the Opening Day roster; if he doesn’t, he still has an option year remaining.

To make room for Bride on the 40 man roster, Jordan Groshans was designated for assignment. Groshans was acquired by Miami at the 2022 trade deadline. He hit .244/.339/.330 with AAA Jacksonville this past season. The rest of the league will have seven days to inquire about Groshans’ services.