Bleday eager to prove himself with A’s after surprising trade
MESA, Ariz. — Just per week in the past, JJ Bleday was totally ready to enter Spring Training with the Marlins, competing for a spot on their roster, when a telephone name flipped his life the wrong way up.
Just a few hours after participating in Marlins FanFest final Saturday, Bleday flew to Nashville for his engagement celebration. While attending an alumni banquet for Vanderbilt that additionally happened that night, Bleday obtained a name from Miami basic supervisor Kim Ng informing him that he’d been traded to Oakland in alternate for left-hander A.J. Puk.
“They made me go to FanFest and then axed me,” Bleday mentioned with amusing. “ It was definitely a blindside. Definitely a little sense of bitterness at first.”
It was actually cheap for the transfer to return as a shock. When a workforce invests as a lot in a participant as Miami did with Bleday, choosing him fourth total within the 2019 MLB Draft, the expectation is that the participant can someday develop right into a franchise-altering expertise.
In Bleday’s thoughts, the Marlins buying and selling him away after solely three years within the group despatched a transparent message that they had been primarily giving up on him quite shortly.
“No more opportunities,” Bleday mentioned. “[The Marlins] told me that was their set roster. That was the kind of vibe I got from that. It’s a business. I understand.”
After taking just a few days to let the news sink in, Bleday packed his luggage and boarded a flight from Florida to Phoenix. Getting in on Thursday night time, he arrived at A’s Spring Training on Friday morning, three days forward of the scheduled report date for all place gamers. Upon arrival to the clubhouse at Hohokam Stadium, Shea Langeliers, Jonah Bride, Conner Capel and Logan Davidson had been amongst these Bleday acknowledged as gamers he both performed with or in opposition to prior to now.
While the outfield image with the Marlins was set, that state of affairs with the A’s is a little more open. Seth Brown and Ramón Laureano are anticipated to be regulars in Oakland’s outfield this season. After that, middle area and presumably a fourth outfield spot are up for grabs.
“I’m really happy to be here,” Bleday mentioned. “I think it’s going to be a good fit and an exciting opportunity.”
Helping Bleday’s possibilities of touchdown an Opening Day roster spot is his versatility. Though he performed largely middle area in his first name to the massive leagues with Miami final yr, Bleday mentioned he’s most comfy within the corners, notably proper area, the place he performed commonly in school as a standout at Vanderbilt.
From the A’s perspective, Bleday, who ranked as baseball’s No. 20 total prospect in 2021, per MLB Pipeline, enters the group with a authentic likelihood to interrupt camp with the massive league membership. The 25-year-old outfielder’s competitors contains one other newcomer in Esteury Ruiz, in addition to Capel and Cristian Pache, who comes into spring out of Minor League choices.
“We’ve talked to the Marlins about [Bleday] a number of times over the past 12 months,” mentioned A’s basic supervisor David Forst. “Really like the power and there is elite plate discipline there. The guy walked 90 times last year between Triple-A and the big leagues, which is not an easy thing to do anymore.”
Getting a style of massive league motion in ’22, Bleday admitted that the expertise hole between Triple-A and the Majors was bigger than he anticipated. Appearing in 65 video games for the Marlins, he slashed .167/.277/.309 with 5 dwelling runs, 10 doubles and 16 RBIs.
“It’s humbling, man,” Bleday mentioned. “It’s a really humbling sport, particularly on the large league degree. There had been some issues within the large leagues I used to be doing mechanically that I most likely shouldn’t have been doing. Things you’re actually unaware of, however you don’t have any time to work on since you’re taking part in each single day. There’s 95 [mph] plus on the mound each night time, and it’s a relentless league.
“That’s one thing I learned. There’s someone coming for your throat every day, and you have to be prepared and ready for it.”
Among these mechanical flaws Bleday recognized from final season is a bent to drop his arms on the plate, a problem he mentioned has crept up prior to now. Addressing these flaws in his offseason work, Bleday will look to parlay his contemporary begin right into a Major League alternative with the A’s.
“I’ve made some adjustments and I feel really good,” Bleday mentioned. “This is the best I’ve felt since college going into a season. Last year, when I went to the big leagues, I was missing [fastballs]. I was getting in great counts and just fouling off. The main emphasis is hit the heater this year. Dominate that in your work. Hit off the machine and take that into games.”
