KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Less than two hours after their first game of the 2022 season, the Guardians sent one of their longest-tenured players packing.
Cleveland traded outfielder Bradley Zimmer to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for relief pitcher Anthony Castro. Zimmer had made the Guards' roster out of spring training, but did not play in Thursday's season-opening loss to the Kansas City Royals.
A No. 1 draft pick in 2014, Zimmer was once one of Cleveland's top prospects, and showed promise by stealing 18 bases and saving five defensive runs for the then-Indians in 2017. But a broken hand ended his season before the Tribe could begin postseason play, and served as an unfortunate harbinger of what was to come.
Various injuries limited Zimmer to just 45 big league games from 2018-19, and even when healthy the next two years, his offensive production was nowhere near a suitable level. Those problems were on full display this spring, when the 29-year-old hit a dismal .156 and struck out in 46% of his plate appearances.
Out of minor league options, the Guardians were forced to either put Zimmer on the active roster or eat his $1.3 million salary. His Cleveland career now comes to a close with a .225 batting average, 19 home runs, 39 steals, and nine defensive runs saved across parts of five seasons.
In return, the Guards will get another arm to help out their young bullpen. The soon-to-be-27-year-old Castro has a 5.26 career ERA in 27 career appearances with the Jays and Detroit Tigers, but does average 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. A former starter, FanGraphs rates him as having an above-average fastball and slider.
Castro could join the Guardians as soon as their next game. The club is of Friday before taking on KC again Saturday afternoon.