The St. Louis Cardinals are in the process of making several roster moves before the second half of their MLB season begins on Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
A little over a week ago, the Cardinals designated pitcher Bruce Zimmerman for assignment. He spent just one single day on the Cardinals roster, and then was booted from the 40-man roster.
A couple of days ago, the Cardinals outrighted Zimmerman to Triple-A, but he has reportedly declined the assignment and decided to elect MLB free agency instead. Because he’s been outrighed before, Zimmerman had the option to decline the assignment, and elect free agency instead.
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Former Cardinals Pitcher Bruce Zimmerman Officially a Free Agent
GettyST LOUIS, MISSOURI – JULY 7: Bruce Zimmermann #54 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the second inning during game one of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium on July 7, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Now that Bruce Zimmerman is officially an MLB free agent, he can sign with any team of his choosing.
In his very short stint with the Cardinals, he pitched just five innings and gave up three earned runs over his lone appearance in St. Louis. If you remember correctly, before the All-Star break, the Cardinals had a doubleheader with the Milwaukee Brewers, and that was the series where Zimmerman’s services were needed, but he was shortly cut from the team after that.
MLBTR.com’s Charlie Wright wrote (on July 15):
“The Cardinals picked up Zimmermann on a minor league deal in January. He was pitching decently at Triple-A before the call-up, notching a 3.78 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning over 15 starts. Zimmermann covered five innings against the Brewers, allowing three earned runs. It was just his second MLB appearance since 2023. He last suited up for Milwaukee, making a single start at the tail end of last season.”
CBSSports wrote (a few days ago) about Zimmerman:
“Zimmermann’s stint on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster lasted less than one day. The southpaw was called up from Triple-A ahead of Tuesday’s doubleheader versus the Brewers, only to get designated for assignment ahead of Game 2 after allowing three earned runs over five innings of long relief in Game 1.”
Zimmerman is no longer with the organization, but can still re-sign if the Cardinals and his reps can agree to a new pact.
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Bruce Zimmerman’s MLB Career
GettyBALTIMORE, MARYLAND – APRIL 11: Bruce Zimmermann #50 of the Baltimore Orioles throws to a Milwaukee Brewers batter in the first inning during Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 11, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Before Bruce Zimmerman’s very short stint with the St. Louis Cardinals, he had pitched (including this season) in parts of six MLB seasons.
He debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in 2020 and spent the first four seasons of his career with the O’s.
Over 169.1 total innings in MLB, Zimmerman has an ERA of 5.63 with 129 strikeouts.
He spent a short time with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025 (six innings), but did not perform that well with the Brew Crew either.
It will be very interesting to see if Zimmerman lands a minors deal with another MLB organization.
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