The Marlins announced that outfielder Jesús Sánchez has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. He had suffered a left oblique strain during spring training. In a corresponding move, infielder Jonah Bride has been designated for assignment.
It’s a somewhat surprising decision. Bride seemed to have a decent breakout with the Fish last year. Acquired from the A’s in February of 2024, he spent much of the first half getting shuttled to Triple-A and back but was in the majors for most of the second half of the season. He eventually got into 71 big league games and stepped to the plate 272 times. He hit 11 home runs and drew walks at a solid 11% clip, while keeping his strikeouts down to a 20.2% level.
That wasn’t a massive sample size but Bride also had a decent minor league numbers. From 2021 to 2024, he hit .289/.421/.489 on the farm for a 137 wRC+. His 17.1% walk rate was better than his 16% strikeout rate. He didn’t perform well when he first got to the majors with Oakland in 2022 and 2023 but seemed to turn a bit of a corner with Miami last year. He also provided a bit of defensive versatility, playing all three non-shortstop infield positions last year.
There’s no denying that he’s out to an awful start this year. Through 12 games, he has been punched out in 15 of his 45 plate appearances and has a line of .100/.200/.100. That’s obviously not great but it’s a tiny sample and the Fish didn’t need to open up a 40-man roster spot today. They could have simply optioned a player to the minor leagues to make room for Sánchez, while keeping Bride around to see if he could get back on track.
But Bride is now out of options and he was getting squeezed off the roster. Matt Mervis and Otto López are playing well so far this season at first and second base, respectively. At third base, Graham Pauley isn’t playing especially well but Connor Norby is nearing a return from the IL. Kyle Stowers and Griffin Conine are hitting well from the corner outfield spots. With Sánchez now coming back, the designated hitter spot might be needed to get all of them in the lineup. Sánchez got some center field reps during the spring but it’s unclear if the Marlins want to continue that experiment after his injury hiatus.
The Marlins could have kept Bride on the bench but there are reasons they opted for other guys there. They need a backup catcher and shortstop, which works for Rob Brantly and Javier Sanoja. In center field, Dane Myers and Derek Hill have been splitting them there. Hill had some minor injury trouble a few weeks ago, getting Myers into the lineup, but they’ve switched more recently with Myers banged up and Hill in the lineup. The Marlins ultimately seemed to prefer Pauley and Eric Wagaman, as they opted to DFA Bride instead of optioning either of those guys. Pauley is hitting .195/.233/.293 while Wagaman is at .231/.318/.359 in the early going.
Bride will now head to DFA limbo but he’ll know his fate in a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, meaning the Marlins could spend the next five days exploring trade talks. If Bride were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Marlins as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images
Dang, seems like he showed promise in 2024.
that puts you on the fast-track to getting sent away from Miami.
Yeah, given the Marlins lack of depth, it seemed like a marriage made in heaven.
I’m disappointed. This item has been up for 20 minutes without one single Bride joke.
Marlins break out the bride-broom…
CarverAndrews,
I was going to say, “The honeymoon is over for the Bride,” but I will save that for someone else.
Well, you could have easily taken “Marlins undergo optional deBridement procedure ” and gotten away with it, methinks.
Or maybe, “Jonah’s time in Miami is over, but he had a whale of a time while he was there.”
Sadly, there was no pre-nup.
Enough jokes for you?
They’ll do until the next time Richard Lovelady gets designated for assignment.
It does, indeed, seem like 13 comments is enough for an “always a Bride-smaid” joke.
The Hjerpe thread should generate a few classic mlbtr posts.
Jonah got left in the Marlins’ altar.
Jonah could’ve been a runaway
If Jonah plays overseas this year, then a MLB wants him back, does he become a mailorder?
Sorry Jonah,
Always a Bridesmaid, never a BRIDE.
Welcome to Seattle, Jonah!
Free Agustin Ram!
Pirates you know what to do
Perfect fit for the Pirates, the rest of the team is also hitting around .100 this year.
Back filling the gaping wide opening left by Bryan De La Cruz.
Here comes the….
Oh wait. There goes the Bride.
He isn’t hitting right now but he can hit. If he clears waivers Detroit should consider a minor league contract and send him to TOledo.
Jonah Hill might have put up a better slash line…
One of twenty-nine other teams may now claim the Bride.
He gotta Kill Bill first.
Bride’s skillset is fundamentally obsolete in the 2025 MLB roster economy. Sure, he a high BB-rate and low K-rate but he has average power, he’s not defensively versatility and no platoon advantage.
I myself am a proponent of OBP and contact hitting, if you’re taking walks and not striking out, the hits should come. A BAA above league average plays well, if you can add a little slug to that punchbowl you should be up for more than a cup of coffee.
I also like players who can take all their at bats, a dramatic platoon split makes a player less viable to me. I understand how a player who is well above average against righties or lefties has a niche but I think your starters need to play everyday, and that taking at bats from both sides of the plate will ultimately, if you have the tools, help you improve as a hitter.
*taking ABs against righties and lefties is what I had intended to say.
Bride just wasn’t the runaway success the Marlins expected.
Jonah is now the Sentaway Bride.
Didn’t realize Brad Pitts fat assistant had a bride