JJ Bleday DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Athletics are recalling outfielder JJ Bleday from Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of Monday's series opener against the Minnesota Twins, a source tells MLB.com's Martin Gallegos. Bleday returns to the big leagues after making some adjustments at the plate at Triple-A Las Vegas, as he hit .370 (10-for-27) with a home run and a double in six games with the Aviators. It's unclear if Bleday will immediately rejoin the starting lineup for the A's in Monday's series opener against the visiting Twins and right-hander Joe Ryan in Sacramento. The 27-year-old former first-rounder was sent down after a rough start to the 2025 season in which he slashed just .204/.291/.365 with a .656 OPS, six home runs, 18 RBI, 26 runs scored and a steal in 167 at-bats. Outfield prospect Denzel Clarke was recently brought up when Bleday was demoted, but he has gone 5-for-28 with 18 K's in his first nine big-league games.

In a flurry of moves made on Friday, the Athletics optioned outfielder JJ Bleday to Triple-A Las Vegas and designated outfielder Seth Brown for assignment, according to MLB.com's Martin Gallegos. The moves come as the A's cleared room for prospects Denzel Clarke and Logan Davidson, who are both top-30 prospects for the club, according to MLB Pipeline. For now, Clarke is expected to replace Bleday as the team's everyday center fielder after Bleday, the former fourth overall pick by the Miami Marlins in 2019 out of Vanderbilt, hit just .204/.291/.365 with six homers, 18 RBI, 26 runs and a steal in 167 at-bats to begin the 2025 season. The 27-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder should be back in the majors again at some point this year, but his fantasy stock will obviously take a big hit. Brown was hitting .192 (10-for-52) with a homer and three RBI as a part-time outfielder for the Athletics.

Athletics outfielder JJ Bleday is out of Thursday's lineup against the Dodgers. Seth Brown is starting in center field instead. This is just a rare day off for the 27-year-old, who has played in 41 of the A's 43 games this season. He is slashing .216/.308/.399 with six home runs, 18 RBI, and 26 runs on the year. He remains a fine option in five-outfielder leagues thanks to his everyday playing time and counting stat accumulation.