Sept. 27: Zimmermann went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He can become a minor league free agent once the season is over.
Sept. 24: The Brewers have designated left-hander Bruce Zimmermann for assignment, per a team announcement. Righty Carlos Rodriguez has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take his spot on the active roster. Milwaukee’s 40-man roster is now at 39 players.
Zimmermann pitched in just one game for Milwaukee, giving the club six innings in a spot start against the Padres yesterday. The former Orioles southpaw was tagged for five earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks with only one punchout, but he gave the Milwaukee bullpen a breather after a day in which they’d burned through six relievers in an 11-inning game against San Diego. Despite the rocky results, Zimmermann drew praise from manager Pat Murphy for pitching relatively deep into the game on a day when the team’s relief corps was a bit depleted (via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
It was always likely to be a one-off appearance for Zimmermann. The lefty is out of minor league options and wouldn’t be available to pitch until the season finale at the earliest. The Brewers will shuffle him off the roster and bring up Rodriguez to provide some extra length in the ’pen. It may sound cold or callous on the surface, but teams are generally upfront with this type of plan when bringing a journeyman pitcher like Zimmermann to the majors for a short period of time. He’ll get a few days of big league service time and salary for the effort. (Players receive MLB service time and pay even while they’re on outright waivers and/or in DFA limbo.)
This was Zimmermann’s first big league appearance since 2023. He’s pitched in parts of four other seasons, all with Baltimore from 2020-23. Zimmermann carries a career 5.64 ERA in 164 1/3 MLB frames, but he’s been far better in Triple-A — including this season. In 138 frames with the Brewers’ Nashville affiliate, the 30-year-old Zimmermann has pitched to a 4.11 ERA with an 18.8% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate.
Zimmermann will be available to all 29 other clubs on outright waivers. Assuming he clears, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues in favor of free agency. Either way, he’ll be a minor league free agent at season’s end.
His one game will be celebrated for decades to come.
He might just get a WS ring when all is said and done, maybe a 10 to 15 percent chance, cool!
He might have to pay for it himself, but yeah.
I think only guys who are on the post season rosters get them for free. At least that’s how some clubs used to handle it.
It is up to the club, some let the players vote on it.
I read Taylor Trammell got a ring from Dodgers and Yankees in same year, and Google AI confirmed it, but maybe that was fiction
I got a Cubs World Series ring for 2016…on eBay!😎😹😎
I know it’s legit since came from China and I $35 for it!
lol
Google AI also showed a pic of “Reds franchise cornerstone”
(It was a pic of Ohtani with the Angels)
Being that’s “Google AI” I wouldn’t be shocked if it confused the Reds logo with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in NPB…
I feel bad for whoever he struck out
I, too, feel bad for……. Xander Bogaerts…. and his $280MM contract.
I hope he — and the other 126 hitters Zimmermann has struck out in the major leagues — can recover from this.
Some years back, BOB ZIMMERMAN Performed so poorly for the Brewers, that he changed his name and tried to make it as a musician & singer.
Wonder how that worked out for him?
It helped Trent Grisham
The brewers should be investigated by mlb for not even trying the last 5 games and this is a perfect example
You understand that the brewers pitching staff has been ravaged by injury’s right? By plugging in a no name journeyman for 1 game gave the brewers a break. They have the division and playoffs. They had their best players playing as well. Not sure why your complaining
Zimm isn’t a journeyman. He’s just a 4A pitcher that’s suited up for two teams in the big leagues since making his debut – and all his appearances except one came in a Baltimore uniform. He’s a rebuild retread, not a journeyman.
How can someone be a journeyman when they’ve pitched for only two MLB teams (and in the minors, only one more than that)?