Bradley Zimmer Traded To Toronto For Anthony Castro

The former first round pick back in 2014 is changing organizations for the first time in his career.

Bradley Zimmer is on the move.

Just about an hour after the Cleveland Guardians dropped the season-opener to Kansas City, the team announces it has traded Zimmer to Toronto for RHP Anthony Castro.

Zimmer was once one of the most coveted prospects in the Guardians farm system, with incredible speed (considering his size) and the ability to hit some of the most jaw-dropping home runs you'll ever see.

Unfortunately, Zimmer's Major League career hasn't gone quite as well as everyone hoped.

Zimmer sported a 1.2 WAR last year and has just a 2.7 career WAR in more than 750 at bats over five seasons. He is a career .225 hitter, which was essentially his average last year. He's had trouble putting the ball in play consistently, after striking out 122 times last year ... and he's averaging nearly one punch out per every three plate appearances during his career.

With Josh Naylor progressing nicely and nearly ready to join the team, and with Steven Kwan starting the year on the big league roster, it may have been difficult for Zimmer to see consistent playing time. Kwan had a monster spring, is a contact-hitting machine, and Zimmer finished the spring just 5-for-32 with 16 more strikeouts.

In exchange, the Guardians have acquired 26-year old RHP Anthony Castro, who has split his career between the Detroit Tigers' and Toronto Blue Jays' organizations. Castro is from Venezuela, has one option left on his current contract and opened the 2022 season at Triple-A Buffalo. He will be added to the Guardians' active Major League roster in time for Saturday's game against the Royals.

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