The Blue Jays acquire Bradley Zimmer from the Guardians for Anthony Castro

[TwistedLogic]

[TwistedLogic]

Thought this deserved its own thread.

 

And yeah, I love this trade.

[mellowgold]

 

Like it. I mean, why not? Zimmer is the (very) poor man's type of player this roster needs. Speed+defense and a lefty to boot. Atkins loading up on speedy lefty late-20's lottery tickets all of a sudden.

[King]

Nice player to have off the bench and cheap

 

Works for me

[Ray]

Atkins has done really well to load up that OF with depth for cheap. Tapia & Zimmer aren't great, but they raise the floor for this team considerably (Zimmer is projected for 1.2 fWAR).

 

There's some untapped potential there. The trouble with Zimmer is the inability to stay healthy.

[max silver]

Atkins has done really well to load up that OF with depth for cheap. Tapia & Zimmer aren't great, but they raise the floor for this team considerably (Zimmer is projected for 1.2 fWAR).

 

There's some untapped potential there. The trouble with Zimmer is the inability to stay healthy.

 

The other glaring issue with Zimmer is the 33% career k rate. The guy has serious swing and miss issues as he actually has very good plate discipline. Zimmer's kind of like a bizarro world version of Tapia as there is a lot of juice in the bat and plus defence whereas Tapia is a no pop weak defence guy despite his own physical tools. It's too bad Zimmer doesn't have any options remaining because he would be a prime candidate to go to Buffalo and work with the swing doctors on the Bison's training staff. They've had a lot of success working with guys like Teoscar, Gurriel and Jansen in the past to iron out their deficiencies in a lower pressure environment.

[Deadpool]

I can't imagine this bumps Tapia, so who gets moved out for him? He's out of options.

 

Collins?

[Terminator]

This is a pretty sweet trade. Great fielder and baserunner and some potential with his bat.

 

Carrying 5 OFers along with Biggio is slightly awkward but someone will get hurt and we can always cycle people through the DH spot (looking at you Springer) whenever Kirk is catching. They'll be enough ABs to go around.

[Grant77]

I really like it. We desperately needed some depth in CF between Springer and Palacios. I suppose he takes Katoh's or Collins' spot on the roster for now, but Zimmer projects the same as Tapia at the plate with much better defense, so the latter's roster spot may be at risk at some point.

[Sammy225]

I really like it. We desperately needed some depth in CF between Springer and Palacios. I suppose he takes Katoh's spot on the roster for now, but Zimmer projects the same as Tapia at the plate with much better defense, so the latter's roster spot may be at risk at some point.

 

Collins likely goes down

[Terminator]

I can't imagine this bumps Tapia, so who gets moved out for him? He's out of options.

 

Collins?

 

I would imagine so but I bet it will be pretty fluid. We play 30 games in the next 31 days. Katoh could be an option as well. I could see one of the bottom of the barrel pitchers for now but I don't think it would last long.

[King]

Atkins got 25 decent innings out of Castro, a waiver claim, and then flipped him for a cheap, controllable bench OF

 

Nice swing

[Grant77]

It's hard to envision a scenario in which Castro provides more value to the 2022 Blue Jays than Zimmer will.

[max silver]

It's hard to envision a scenario in which Castro provides more value to the 2022 Blue Jays than Zimmer will.

 

Especially given the fact that Castro is no longer a member of the organization.

 

But jokes aside Zimmer definitely fits the organizational needs to a much larger degree than Castro would have as a depth reliever. I liked the potential that Castro displayed last season as he had a very nice slider but a legitimate backup center fielder is a perfect fit. Zimmer produced a 99 WRC+ against right handers last season so if he's mostly limited to facing righties that's a very nice piece to add to the roster when you consider the entire package.

[Terminator]

It's not a bad move for the cheapskate Indians either IMO. They've got plenty of OF types like this and Castro will be cheaper than Zimmer as he won't hit arb for a couple more seasons whereas Zimmer already has. Castro's slider is legit too. He should be able to fill a middle innings role with some potential for more while doing it for league min for the next two years.

[Ehjays]

Zimmer Rookie season Highlights

[Ehjays]

Guardians Trade Bradley Zimmer To Blue Jays For Anthony Castro

By Darragh McDonald | April 7, 2022 at 7:45pm CDT

 

The Guardians have announced that they have traded outfielder Bradley Zimmer to the Blue Jays in exchange for right-hander Anthony Castro.

 

For the Blue Jays, this is the second trade in recent weeks where they’ve added a speedy outfielder with a left-handed bat as a complement to their lineup of right-handed power bats, with the other being Raimel Tapia. Zimmer was selected by Cleveland as the 21st overall pick in the 2014 draft and made his debut in 2017. He didn’t hit a ton, putting up a line of .241/.307/.385 for a wRC+ of just 79 in 101 games. However, he did steal 18 bases and get favorable reviews for his work in the field, which helped him earn a mark of 1.6 wins above replacement, in the estimation of FanGraphs.

 

Unfortunately, Zimmer has never been able to top that mark since. He started 2018 with the big league club but struggled over 34 games and got optioned down to the minors. A shoulder injury suffered that year wiped out the remainder of his 2018 and most of his 2019 as well. Over 2020 and 2021, he got into 119 big league games and showed a similar profile to his rookie year. The batting line was fairly tepid, coming in at .220/.329/.333 for a wRC+ of 88, but with 17 steals and good defense. On the other hand, he did strike out in 34.2% of his plate appearances, something that has been a persistent issue with him throughout his big league career.

 

As a lefty hitter, he’s better versus righties but doesn’t have drastic platoon splits for his career. With the Jays featuring a starting outfield of right-handed batters George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Zimmer and Tapia will likely be competing for given those guys the occasional day on the bench or in the DH slot, giving the lineup a different look.

 

It seems Zimmer was nudged out of the plans in Cleveland, as he didn’t crack the lineup in today’s season opener, with Myles Straw, Amed Rosario and Steven Kwan getting the starting nods on the grass. Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins were both working in the Cleveland front office at the time Zimmer was drafted and are clearly willing to take a shot that the 29-year-old can still be valuable. His defense was estimated to be worth seven Outs Above Average by Statcast last year, meaning he can be a productive player even without any offensive improvement. Though development in that department will surely be a goal of his new team. He qualified for arbitration for the first time this year and settled on a salary of $1.3MM. He can be controlled through the 2024 season.

 

As for the Guardians, they’ve subtracted a player who wasn’t likely to see significant playing time and is out of options, while adding an optionable reliever to their bullpen mix. Castro made his MLB debut in 2020 with Detroit but pitched just a single inning. After going to the Jays on a waiver claim, he was able to log 24 2/3 innings in the bigs last year with a 4.74 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. The 26-year-old has an option year remaining and just over a year of service time, meaning he could be controlled by the Guardians for years to come.

[keggy]

With Springer's health it makes sense to carry a true center fielder. With that said, I hope Biggio gets a lot of the 4th OF ABs. He's a better hitter than Zimmer and Tapia, and lets Espinal soak up some value with his glove.

[WryNGinger]

This is a great trade. A legit center field back-up is just what this pitching staff needs. The focus on having a huge boost to defensive runs prevented at third and center this offseason will allow the SP's to go deeper in games and have less reliance on the BP. Chapman at third and Springer/Zimmer at center vs last year? wow...what a difference.

[glory]

I like this move as well. The Jays needed a LHB with speed and defense as the 4th OF, and Zimmer is basically that. His bat isn't great but if he can be serviceable against RHP then he will have value.

 

I wonder if this move eventually leads to Tapia being moved (either today or soon). You really don't need both him and Zimmer on the bench, and neither of them have options remaining. Plus my guess is the trade with the Rockies was more about moving Grichuk and getting the prospect back than it was about Tapia, so now that they have a better LH bench player, they can probably move on from him.

[vaff]

This guy reminds me of Gareth Bale, for some reason.

[wamco]

I like this move as well. The Jays needed a LHB with speed and defense as the 4th OF, and Zimmer is basically that. His bat isn't great but if he can be serviceable against RHP then he will have value.

 

I wonder if this move eventually leads to Tapia being moved (either today or soon). You really don't need both him and Zimmer on the bench, and neither of them have options remaining. Plus my guess is the trade with the Rockies was more about moving Grichuk and getting the prospect back than it was about Tapia, so now that they have a better LH bench player, they can probably move on from him.

 

My take as well. Saves 25 pct of grichuk salary (and gets 2 players) to trade tapia and his negative 4 degree launch angle

[The Iceman]

It's hard to envision a scenario in which Castro provides more value to the 2022 Blue Jays than Zimmer will.

 

The scenario would be if he doesn't stay with the big club.

 

When rosters are reduced it has to be him or Tapia.

Not sure if Tapia has options to be sent down but when healthy there may not be room for him on the roster unless Tapia can not handle CF.

 

I remember watching Zimmer as a rookie and he has blinding speed.

His SB success % is awesome.

Can't hate on this trade.

Edited April 8, 2022 by The Iceman

[Krylian]

Is Zimmer the next Derek Fisher experiment? Lots of loud tools...hasn't put it together yet.

[BigCecil]

I like this move as well. The Jays needed a LHB with speed and defense as the 4th OF, and Zimmer is basically that. His bat isn't great but if he can be serviceable against RHP then he will have value.

 

I wonder if this move eventually leads to Tapia being moved (either today or soon). You really don't need both him and Zimmer on the bench, and neither of them have options remaining. Plus my guess is the trade with the Rockies was more about moving Grichuk and getting the prospect back than it was about Tapia, so now that they have a better LH bench player, they can probably move on from him.

 

Ya, hard to see the need for both Tapia and Zimmer. Good depth move. Castro stuff always looked so promising. He could still find it in their pen...or not.

[Krylian]

Ya, hard to see the need for both Tapia and Zimmer. Good depth move. Castro stuff always looked so promising. He could still find it in their pen...or not.

 

Not until he gets to Tampa.

[InsideThePark]

The scenario would be if he doesn't stay with the big club.

 

When rosters are reduced it has to be him or Tapia.

Not sure if Tapia has options to be sent down but when healthy there may not be room for him on the roster unless Tapia can not handle CF.

 

I remember watching Zimmer as a rookie and he has blinding speed.

His SB success % is awesome.

Can't hate on this trade.

 

There's a 13 pitcher maximum when rosters go back to 26 which means a 4 man bench. We currently have a 4 man bench already. We have to send down 2 pitchers. Shouldn't impact the bench unless another option not on the roster becomes more useful.

[Jimcanuck]

There's a 13 pitcher maximum when rosters go back to 26 which means a 4 man bench. We currently have a 4 man bench already. We have to send down 2 pitchers. Shouldn't impact the bench unless another option not on the roster becomes more useful.

 

Collins, Espinal, Katoh, Zimmer, Tapia = 5

 

Katoh likely goes down.

[InsideThePark]

Collins, Espinal, Katoh, Zimmer, Tapia = 5

 

Katoh likely goes down.

 

I thought the assumption was the Collins was going down right now?

[Laika]

Is Zimmer the next Derek Fisher experiment? Lots of loud tools...hasn't put it together yet.

 

Well he won't be asked to start so no, he's not a Derek Fisher experiment.

 

He's just being acquired for WHAT HE IS and not what he could be. Any upside above his projections is just gravy.