TL;DR
- The Athletics are focusing on building a core, showing improvement in their 2024 season.
- The team designated former first-round pick JJ Bleday for assignment.
- Bleday struggled adapting to center field after being drafted by the Miami Marlins.
- Denzel Clarke is expected to be the Athletics' regular center fielder next season.
In recent seasons, there's been minimal buzz about the Athletics. The team divested itself of any player possessing tradeable value, focusing on establishing a core, a strategy that showed some results this past season.
Despite not making the playoffs, their regular season concluded with their strongest performance since 2021. There's reason for optimism, and the A's have the potential to improve on their 2025 campaign.
The club faces difficult choices this offseason to achieve that goal. One such challenging decision has already been made: designating for assignment a player, JJ Bleday, who was a first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, through MLB Trade Rumors.
Athletics send former first-round draft selection to assignment
JJ Bleday was regarded as a premier prospect entering the 2019 draft. He was chosen fourth overall, selected by the Miami Marlins.
Bleday remained with the team for a couple of years before being dealt to the Athletics for A.J. Puk. After a brief stint in Triple-A, he debuted with the A's in May 2023, only to suffer an ACL sprain in August.
The subsequent year, Bleday experienced an increase in his playing time. He was moved to the team's regular center fielder role, though it proved to be a challenging position to manage. Bleday had been developed as a corner outfielder, and he struggled to adapt to playing center field.
The Athletics will now have a few days to gauge trade interest. Should no deals materialize, Bleday will enter free agency, joining a limited pool of outfielders available this offseason.
Denzel Clarke stepped in to play center field for the club toward the end of the season, as Bleday faced difficulties. It's reasonable to expect him to be the team's regular starting center fielder next season, barring an unexpected move by the A's.
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