Jonah

Bride

Law noted that Ramirez is technically a catcher, “but he’s awful back there.” Given how strong Ramirez is and how close his bat is to major-league-ready, Law thinks the Marlins should look to find another spot for him now. Jonah Bride is technically the starter at first base, and the Marlins also now have Deyvison De Los Santos to compete for that job, but Ramirez could wind up being the best hitter of the three. There’s a world where De Los Santos and Ramirez wind up as the 1B and DH in Miami, and that would make Marlins fans and fantasy managers happy.

Bride hit a dribbler in the first inning that turned into two runs and that would be all the Marlins needed to end their season with a win. This latter part of the season has just gone that way for Bride who has a 12 RBI and a 1.007 OPS over his last 15 games. He has quietly worked his way into the Marlins’ 2025 plans with his strong second half.

Bride hit a two-run shot in the first inning off Jose Berrios and a solo shot off Nick Burdi. The sample is only 69 games, but Bride has more than held his own in 2024 with 11 homers, 36 RBI and an .814 OPS. Bride could be a regular for the Marlins in 2025, but you can probably do better.

Bride has been a nice surprise in hitting .264/.349/.429 in 249 plate appearances for the Marlins, but he’s done so with mediocre batted-ball numbers that suggest he’s overachieving. Still, he’s likely put himself into the Marlins’ plans for 2025 with his performance (and his minimum salary).

Bride was the best Marlins’ bat in this game by far. He accounted for three of their seven hard-hit balls and their only extra-base hit. Sneakily, he’s been a steady compiler for those in deep-leagues playing practically every day, often hitting third or fourth in the order, and a .771 OPS in 59 games this season.

Bride had a sacrifice fly in the third inning and tied the game in the eighth inning with an RBI single. He has a hit in 10 of his last 12 games and is 11-for-39 (.282) with a home run and five RBI in that time. Bride is hitting .259 with a .755 OPS and 27 RBI on the year.

At .268/.350/.475 for Jacksonville, the 27-year-old Conine has made some progress this year, hitting for his highest average since low-A ball in 2019 and dragging his strikeout rate under 30% (if only barely at 29.5%) for the first time since his pro debut in 2018. Would he be getting the call here if he weren’t Jeff’s son? Probably not, but he’s paid his dues and it’s unlikely that he’ll embarrass himself. It sounds like he’ll get the occasional start against righties, with Jonah Bride probably losing some playing time.

Bride has been scalding hot since being anointed the Marlins’ everyday first baseman. He’s started all but one game since July 25th and has five homers, 11 RBI, seven runs scored, 17 strikeouts, and 12 walks in 61 at-bats. That could be a very helpful player in deep leagues.

Bride has been thrust into full-time duty for the Marlins after their massive trade deadline exodus and he’s done well with three long balls in five games. The Athletics cast-off has been more of a free-swinger early on in Miami and maybe it’s helped him unlock some more power.

With Otto Lopez heading to the IL, Jonah Bride will come up and take his spot on the roster. Vidal Brujan should continue to start at second base, which means Bride will just be a bench bat while he’s up with the big club.