Miami Marlins have an interesting first baseman

A lot of fans were unhappy when the Miami Marlins traded Jake Burger to the Texas Rangers earlier this off-season. It was not a financially motivated deal, as he's simply not the type of player that Peter Bendix seems to like. There's also the presence of Jonah Bride on the team, that is quite intriguing for how the future might look for the team at the position.

The Miami Marlins have an interesting player in Jonah Bride.

Jonah Bride may not be a big name, and has certainly not been as flashy as Jake Burger, that said he was actually better than him in 2024. In that 2024 season, Jake Burger batted .250/.301/.460, with 29 home runs and 76 RBI in 137 games and 535 AB. He was worth a pretty subpar 0.5 WAR.

What about Jonah Bride? Bride batted a much better .276/.357/.461, with 11 home runs and 39 RBI in 71 games and 232 AB. He was worth a better 0.8 WAR and in a lot fewer AB's. That is very promising and I'm certainly very curious to see what he can put together in a full season. The 28 year old is of course about to turn 29, but Burger is in the same age range.

I know that there are certainly questions about Bride's future. He's a late-bloomer, who doesn't have much of a track record at the Major League level at all. I can see how some can seriously question what he can really bring to the table, and the actual logic in giving him the first base position in 2025. That said, we don't know who else could be brought in and if there will in fact be a positional battle in Spring Training.

I really like the idea of giving Jonah Bride a chance to see what he can do. He has a better skillset than Jake Burger and could very well be similar to him in a late career break-out. It's going to be interesting to see what he does in the 2025 season, and how his performance will affect the Miami Marlins.