The Phillies announced Thursday that they have claimed the outfielder Bradley room Disclaimers from the Blue Jays. He will take the midfielder’s active roster spot Brandon Marchwho is put on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained left ankle. Bryce Harper was carried over to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man list.
Zimmer, a former first-round pick and top Cleveland prospect, was traded to the Jays on opening day and has had a roster spot all season due to his glove work and baserunning skills. He’s posted a disastrous .105/.209/.237 batting line on the season, but that’s a tiny sample of 87 plate appearances spread across 77 games.
Zimmer has never been a great hitter in the majors, but he came into the 2022 season as a .225/.310/.347 hitter, so it’s fair to ask if he might have done a little better on the plate if he would have been with more than five to six record appearances a week. At the time of his DFA, Zimmer had played in 22 games and received just 14 plate appearances over a period of more than six weeks.
At least in the short term, the Phils could give Zimmer more attacks. He’ll give them a plus defender to slide between lumbering thugs Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos in the outfield to provide the reach needed to make up for the defensive deficiencies the Phillies face in the corners.
Marsh, acquired in a deadline deal sending top catch prospects Logan O’Hoppe to the Angels, hit .250/.294/.313 in 34 plate appearances with the Phillies before picking up his current injury in a game on the midfield wall. Like Zimmer, he’s a plus defender at center, although Marsh was also recently picked in the second round and is top prospects that the Phils hope will be their daily option at center for the foreseeable future. It seems likely that Zimmer could be dropped from the roster again after Marsh’s return, although with the roster expanding to 28 in September, the Phils may stick with Zimmer to give them a second Plus Glove in outfield as a late-game replacement admit.
Harper’s move to the 60-day injured list is procedural and does not reset his timetable for a return. The “60-day” term of the 60-day IL applies retrospectively whenever a player was first accepted into the IL, and Harper was aiming for a return in September anyway. In other words, it’s a formality that doesn’t reflect problems in his rehab or setbacks. He has been working to heal a broken thumb inflicted when he was thrown to the ground by a driving man Blake Snell fastball. Harper also has a ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow, which has limited him to DH work as he cannot throw from right field. That will likely remain his role when he returns next month.