Rangers quietly cut ties with former Athletics draft pick

The Texas Rangers have granted infielder Jonah Bride his release, according to the Dallas Morning News' Shawn McFarland. Bride, a former Athletics draft pick, has spent the year with Triple-A Round Rock, slashing a strong .271/.389/.418 with nine home runs, 16 doubles, 57 walks and 46 RBI across 80 games.

Bride may be hoping to land a deal with a team that has a clearer path to the majors. It's also possible he has an opportunity to play overseas.

Bride signed a minor-league deal with the Rangers in the offseason after spending the 2025 season with the Miami Marlins and the Minnesota Twins. After he hit just .100.200/.100 in 45 plate appearances over 12 games to start the 2025 campaign with Miami, Bride was designated for assignment by the Marlins and then traded to the Twins for cash in mid-April of that season.

Bride made 80 plate appearances across 33 games with the Twins, hitting .208/.275/.236 with just two extra-base hits and three RBI. Minnesota designated him for assignment in early July 2025, and then outrighted the infielder to Triple-A St. Paul, where he spent the remainder of the year. He slashed .281/.423/.453 with five home runs and nine doubles across 43 games for Minnesota's Triple-A squad.

Rangers release "Quad-A" player Jonah Bride, a former Athletics draft pick

Bride, 30, fits the definition of a "Quad-A" player. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, the infielder has hit .287/.418/.475 with 40 homers and 173 RBI in 1,263 plate appearances across 289 games. Meanwhile, Bride has hit just .221/.311/.313 with 12 home runs and 57 RBI in 690 plate appearances across 214 MLB games.

The Oakland Athletics selected Bride in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft from the University of South Carolina. If he were roughly 10 years younger, there's a strong chance he wouldn't have been drafted, as there are only 20 rounds in the MLB Draft nowadays.

Bride made his MLB debut with Oakland in 2022. He slashed .204/.301/.247 with one home run, four doubles, and six RBI in 187 plate appearances over 58 games during his rookie season. His struggles carried over to his second year, as he hit just .170/.286/.205 in 206 plate appearances over 40 games for the Athletics.

The Athletics designated Bride for assignment and then traded him to the Marlins for cash during the 2023-24 offseason. Bride had a solid 2024 season in limited action for Miami, hitting .276/.357/.461 with 11 home runs, 10 doubles and 39 RBI in 272 plate appearances across 71 games.

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