Bligh Madris

Bligh John Madris (born February 29, 1996) is an American-Palauan professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros.

Bligh Madris
Madris with the Indianapolis Indians in 2022
Free agent
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1996-02-29) February 29, 1996
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 20, 2022, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.173
Home runs1
Runs batted in7
Teams

Amateur career

Madris attended Foothill High School in Henderson, Nevada, and played college baseball at Colorado Mesa University. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[1]

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Madris made his professional debut with the West Virginia Black Bears, batting .270 with five home runs and 31 RBIs over 56 games. He spent the 2018 season with the Bradenton Marauders with whom he hit .238 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs over 103 games, and he spent 2019 with the Altoona Curve, batting .260 with eight home runs and 55 RBIs over 132 games.[2] After not playing a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season, he returned to Altoona to begin the 2021 season before being promoted to the Indianapolis Indians in May.[3] Over 114 games, he slashed .267/.353/.417 with nine home runs and 56 RBIs and was named Rookie of the Year by the Indians.[4] After the season, he played in the Puerto Rico Baseball League for the Gigantes de Carolina. He returned to the Indians to open the 2022 season.[5]

On June 19, 2022, the Pirates announced that Madris would have his contract selected and that he would be promoted to the major leagues the next day.[6] He made his MLB debut the next day as the starting right fielder at PNC Park versus the Chicago Cubs and recorded his first major league hit, a two-RBI single, in his first at-bat versus Caleb Kilian.[7] Madris became the first Pirates rookie since Jason Kendall in 1996 to record three hits in his major league debut.[8][9] As the Pirates continued their series against the Cubs on June 21, Madris hit his first major league home run while facing Mark Leiter Jr.[10] On September 13, Madris was designated for assignment.[11]

Tampa Bay Rays

On September 16, 2022, Madris was claimed by the Tampa Bay Rays.[12] He played in 10 games for the Triple–A Durham Bulls to close out the year, and hit .317/.370/.683 with 4 home runs and 15 RBI.[13] On November 15, he was designated for assignment.[14]

On November 18, 2022, Madris was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers.[15] On December 21, he was designated for assignment following the waiver claim of Mario Feliciano.[16]

Houston Astros
Madris with the Houston Astros at spring training in 2023

On January 3, 2023, Madris was traded to the Houston Astros in exchange for cash considerations.[17] Madris was optioned to the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys to begin the 2023 season.[18] On March 30, Madris was designated for assignment, after Corey Julks and César Salazar were added to the roster.[19] On April 3, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Sugar Land.[20] In 60 games for Sugar Land, Madris hit .249/.363/.446 with 10 home runs, 36 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. On June 23, the Astros selected Madris' contract, adding him to the active roster.[21] In 12 games for Houston, he went 4–for–26 (.154) with 4 walks. On August 8, Madris was designated for assignment following the promotion of Jon Singleton.[22] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Sugar Land on August 10.[23] Madris elected free agency on October 11.[24]

Personal life

Madris is of Palauan descent.[25] After making his MLB debut, he became the first Palauan to play in the major leagues.[26]

References
  1. "Former KCLB Madris Drafted by Pirates". June 22, 2017.
  2. "Marauders Announce Roster; Meet the Team Tonight at LECOM Park". April 3, 2018.
  3. Stole-Weiss, Jasmine. "Palauan Minor League baseball player Bligh Madris named Rookie of the Year". The Guam Daily Post.
  4. "Top Performances of 2021, No. 3: "Bligh Guy" Sets Career High".
  5. "Analysis: Making sense of injuries, remaining camp battles for Pirates".
  6. "Pirates to promote Oneil Cruz, Bligh Madris for Monday's series opener vs. Cubs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  7. "Bligh Madris' promotion marks culmination of long, hard-working years". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  8. "Oneil Cruz has 4 RBIs, Bligh Madris has 3 hits as rookie call-ups lead Pittsburgh Pirates over Chicago Cubs". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  9. Gorman, Kevin (June 21, 2022). "Oneil Cruz, Bligh Madris make dazzling debuts as Pirates crush Cubs". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  10. Perrotto, John (June 21, 2022). "Rookies Madris, Contreras lead Pirates to 7-1 win over Cubs". Seattle Post Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  11. Gorman, Kevin (September 13, 2022). "Pirates DFA Bligh Madris in roster shuffle before doubleheader at Reds". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  12. Adams, Steve (September 16, 2022). "Rays Claim Bligh Madris". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  13. "Detroit Tigers claim outfielder Bligh Madris off waivers from Tampa Bay Rays". freep.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  14. Franco, Anthony (November 15, 2022). "Rays Designate Ryan Yarbrough For Assignment". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  15. Adams, Steve (November 18, 2022). "Tigers Claim Bligh Madris". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  16. McDonald, Darragh (December 21, 2022). "Tigers Claim Mario Feliciano, Designate Bligh Madris". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  17. McDonald, Darragh (January 3, 2023). "Astros Acquire Bligh Madris". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  18. "Astros' Bligh Madris: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  19. Adams, Steve (March 30, 2023). "Astros Designate J.J. Matijevic, Bligh Madris For Assignment". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  20. Rome, Chandler (April 3, 2023). "Astros' Bligh Madris, J.J. Matijevic clear waivers, heading to Sugar Land". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  21. "Astros' Bligh Madris: Promoted to majors". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  22. "Astros make Jon Singleton call-up official, designate Bligh Madris for assignment". houstonchronicle.com. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  23. "Astros' Bligh Madris: Outrighted to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  24. https://www.milb.com/transactions/2023-10-11
  25. "Not if, but when: Palauan baseball player Bligh Madris' father on son's Major League target". The Guam Daily Post.
  26. Sepe-Chepuru, Shanthi (June 21, 2022). "Madris makes history as MLB's first player from Palau". MLB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
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