The Rule 5 protection deadline sparked a wave of interesting roster moves from across the league. In Pittsburgh, they rightfully DFA'd three struggling players, while also making a controversial move with Dauri Moreta. Across the league, their were plenty of other questionable moves. One that stood out for Pittsburgh was when the Athletics DFA'd former first-rounder JJ Bleday. Now that he is available, the Pirates should grab the phone.
Bleday was the fourth overall pick in 2019 and made his debut with the Marlins in 2022. He got off to a slow start to his major league career, and Miami shipped him off to the Athletics in a deal for AJ Puk.