Blue Jays: Time to make a switch with Bradley Zimmer's roster spot

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TORONTO, ON – MAY 1: Bradley Zimmer #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a MLB game against the Houston Astros at Rogers Centre on May 1, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Earlier this season, the Toronto Blue Jays made two different trades that impacted their outfield roster.

The first deal was sending Randal Grichuk to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Raimel Tapia and prospect Adrian Pinto. This was to get rid of some of the money owed to Grichuk over the next two seasons but also to give him an opportunity for more playing time, as he was not going to see much action in the outfield with the current core. Tapia brings a left-handed bat to the team as well as some plus speed in a bench role that saves the Jays some salary moving forward.

The second deal saw the Blue Jays send reliever Anthony Castro to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for outfielder Bradley Zimmer. This trade added another left-handed hitting outfielder who had struggled to find consistency at the Major League level while also battling injuries over the past several seasons. The once highly touted top prospect was needing a change of scenery and would fit in on the bench with the Blue Jays as a defensive replacement and potential pinch-runner given his plus speed.

Fast forward to today and one of these two players is struggling to find any sort of rhythm in the season so far given the additional playing time with outfielder Teoscar Hernandez on the IL for a good chunk of April.

Through 19 games and 40 at-bats, Zimmer has only three hits and two of them have come in the form of bunts. He did smack a solo home run off Astros starter Justin Verlander back in mid-April but he also has 19 strikeouts to his name which accounts for roughly 48% of his at-bats this season. Zimmer does provide value from a defensive standpoint given his speed and his ability to play centre field but the .075/.119/.150 slash line and .269 OPS are just hard to look at and won’t carry on a club that hasn’t been scoring too many runs as of late (minus the eight spot put up yesterday).

Given that he has no MiLB options at his disposal, he would have to be designated for assignment and considering he has more than three years of service time (as per Baseball Reference), he can reject the assignment and become a free agent. Another team could also pick him up via waivers as well or he could be traded.

Switch Him Out for a AAA Player

Right now, there are a few players standing out on the Buffalo Bisons who could take Zimmer’s spot on the roster from a positional player standpoint.

Nathan Lukes has had a solid start to the year, leading the team with nine doubles while also posting one of the top batting averages on the club at .330 to go along with his .804 OPS. Lukes has split his time between all three outfield positions but does have more reps in centre and right field compared to left, with one error charged to him in centre field. He would require a 40-man roster spot, which would be cleared up with Zimmer being DFA’d.

LJ Talley has also been playing well to begin the 2022 season, posting a .317/.377/.381 slash line through 63 at-bats. He has spent most of the season at third base and only has one error through 67.0 innings as well as some starts at first base as well, so he could provide some additional infield depth should the club decide to keep Biggio down the minor leagues for an extended period of time. Talley would also require a 40-man roster spot should the Jays consider promoting him.

Lastly, the Blue Jays could decide to give Logan Warmoth a shot at the big league level, as the former first-round pick back in 2017 has one of the top OPS numbers on the Bisons roster this season at .902. Warmoth has 19 hits through 68 at-bats and is second on the team in RBI (15) and has even strikeouts to walks with 13 apiece. Now in the outfield, Warmoth has one error in right field this season with a couple of starts in centre field as well. A 40-man roster spot is required for Warmoth.

The Blue Jays acquired Bradley Zimmer earlier this season but the outfielder has struggled so far, potentially requiring a replacement in the near future.

I wouldn’t consider bringing up Otto Lopez yet as he started the year on the IL and only has a handful of games under his belt this year. The same goes for Jordan Groshans, although the top prospect is hitting the ball really well through his small sample size.

Samad Taylor is another call-up option but could be too soon considering he has struck out in 25% of his at-bats (22 strikeouts compared to 21 hits as well). Top prospect Gabriel Moreno will most likely replace a catcher on the roster, as the club will potentially have three already on the squad when Jansen returns in the next week or so, prompting a more difficult decision in the near future rather than replacing Zimmer.

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 21: Cavan Biggio #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Thursday April 21, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images) /

Replace with a Player from the IL

Yesterday the Toronto Blue Jays made some roster moves with Teoscar Hernandez and Ryan Borucki returning from the IL. Both Casey Lawerence and Julian Merryweather were optioned off to AAA to accommodate both returns, leaving the club with 13 pitchers and 13 position players.

Hyun Jin Ryu, Cavan Biggio, and Danny Jansen are notable players on the IL right now and will most likely require a roster spot once healthy. Nate Pearson and Tayler Saucedo are also on the IL but I would not say either is guaranteed a spot on the Jays roster once healthy (at least at this time, especially depending on how the club plans to use Pearson). The club is allowed to carry one additional pitcher (14 total) until the end of May with the recent rule changes due to the shortened Spring Training.

Ryu will most likely bump a pitcher down to AAA and push Ross Stripling back to the bullpen while Jansen will probably take over and drop Tyler Heineman down to Buffalo, leaving the Jays with three catchers again. Biggio is a bit of a wild card given his slow start to the year but could take Vinny Capra’s spot on the roster once he is ready to go and be the bench infielder with two additional outfield bench pieces.

While these are just potential moves the club could make, the Jays’ front office could also drop Bradley Zimmer and keep someone like Capra on the roster moving forward or replace him with a player from the Minor Leagues as I mentioned earlier. Lots of wiggle room with how the bench could be stacked up when you include the third catcher in Zack Collins as well as Raimel Tapia in the outfield (now that Hernandez is back).

Next. Cavan Biggio’s role when he returns from the IL. dark

Overall, with Hernandez back on the team, Zimmer is most likely going to be relegated to the bench and used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. It may not be long before his time on the roster is up though as players return from the IL and some players down in Buffalo continue to keep playing well and he continues to struggle in the batter’s box.

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Blue Jays: Time to make a switch with Bradley Zimmer’s roster spot

The Blue Jays acquired Bradley Zimmer earlier this season but the outfielder has struggled so far, potentially requiring a replacement in the near future.

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