Phillies find center field help by claiming Bradley Zimmer off waivers
With center fielder Brandon Marsh headed to the injured list, the Phillies were in need of assistance on defense. They picked up Zimmer, a former Blue Jay.
As the Phillies packed their things Wednesday and left Cincinnati, the front office worked the phones to acquire a fill-in outfielder, not an easy task after the trade deadline.
Bradley Zimmer, come on down.
The Phillies claimed Zimmer off waivers Thursday from the Toronto Blue Jays and placed center fielder Brandon Marsh on the injured list, as expected, with a bruised left knee and sprained left ankle.
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To free a spot on the 40-man roster, the Phillies transferred Bryce Harper to the 60-day injured list, a procedural move since Harper has been out since June 25. He will still be able to return by the approximate target date of Sept. 1.
Zimmer, 29, is a .214/.301/.337 hitter with 21 home runs in 830 career major league at-bats for Cleveland and Toronto. He was 8-for-76 (.105) with 33 strikeouts this season for the Blue Jays.
But Zimmer’s strength is his defense. He’s an above-average center fielder, and the Phillies will ask him to catch everything that he can until Marsh returns.
Marsh was injured Tuesday night in Cincinnati when he tried to make a leaping catch at the wall in right-center field and came down on his left knee, which contorted awkwardly under the weight of his 215-pound body. He escaped what appeared at first to be a serious knee injury but did not avoid harm entirely.
The situation is further complicated because left fielder Kyle Schwarber has been hobbled by a strained right calf. Schwarber likely will return to the lineup Friday night against the New York Mets but probably as the designated hitter.
Matt Vierling moved to center field to replace Marsh, but infielder Nick Maton had to fill in as the left fielder. Maton played a total of 7⅓ innings in the outfield in the minors and had never done so in the majors until Tuesday night.
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The Phillies lacked internal choices to replace Marsh. Simón Muzziotti, the likeliest candidate to get called up from triple A, was lost for the season last weekend with a torn tendon in his knee. Utilityman Yairo Muñoz and double-A outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz are the only other options on the 40-man roster.