Rockies release veteran outfielder Bradley Zimmer

The Rockies have released outfielder Bradley Zimmer, the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders reports. Zimmer was in camp on a minor league deal, but became expendable when the Rox acquired another left-handed outfield option in Jake Cave via a trade with the Phillies earlier Sunday.

While Cave’s numbers have been shaky at best over the last four seasons, Cave still bring more offensive upside than Zimmer, who has hit .213/.298/.333 over 975 career plate appearances in the bigs from 2017-22.  

Zimmer was a top-100 prospect during his time in Cleveland’s farm system, but his bat simply hasn’t translated against Major League pitching. Now entering his age-32 season, Zimmer has still carved out a niche for himself as a backup outfielder and pinch-runner due to his excellent speed (42 steals in 50 career chances) and all-fields defense.

This skillset gives Zimmer a pretty decent chance of catching on with another team in need of extra defensive help, whether as upper minors depth or on the bench of a big league roster. 

Zimmer last appeared in the majors in 2022 as a member of the Blue Jays, and he spent last season playing with the Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers and Red Sox.