Zimmermann settles in quickly
Despite little time to warm up, pitcher has good showing
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — A rocky first inning wasn’t enough to slow Orioles left-handed pitching prospect Bruce Zimmermann’s strong spring training impression, though it seemed as if traffic might.
After congestion on the roads between Sarasota and Port Charlotte caused the Orioles to arrive at the Tampa Bay Rays’ Charlotte Sports Complex only about 40 minutes before the scheduled first-pitch time, Zimmerman battled his command in the first inning before settling down for three scoreless innings in Baltimore’s 1-0 loss Saturday.
“We hit a little bit of traffic, but the main part was just staying calm and collecting myself and getting straight to business when I got here,” Zimmermann said.
Added Orioles manager Brandon Hyde: “It was a scramble to get the jersey on and go out there.”
Zimmermann, the Orioles’ No. 16 prospect per Baseball America, said he expedited his usual pregame routine but checked all the steps he needed. The Ellicott City native found himself in early trouble after a one-out single by Willy Adames and full-count walk to Brandon Lowe, but he got Yandy Díaz to ground into a double play on his 20th pitch of the frame, only of half of which were strikes.
That started a string of seven straight Rays retired to end the outing for Zimmermann, who had three strikeouts in a start in which both he and Hyde said his changeup was “really good.” Facing a lineup filled with Tampa Bay regulars such as Lowe, Kevin Kiermaier and All-Star Austin Meadows, Zimmermann held his own against major-leaguers after also doing so in his first two spring outings.
“It’s been exciting, that’s for sure, going out there and seeing those names in the box that I’ve been watching for the past three or four years,” Zimmermann said. “To be at this level, you’ve got to pitch well, and to know that I can go out there and do that every five days right now, it’s a big confidence boost.
“I just want to keep building on the outings, whether they’re good or bad. [I’m] just making sure I’m taking away something and improving if I can, and I hope to every outing.”
The Orioles acquired Zimmermann, 25, from the Atlanta Braves at the 2018 trade deadline as part of a package for righthanders Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day. He had a 2.58 ERA in 18 outings with Double-A Bowie in 2019 before a midseason bump to Triple-A Norfolk, where he posted a 4.89 ERA.
All of the pitchers he shared the Baysox’s rotation with that were also part of the Orioles’ spring training roster — Zac Lowther, Alexander Wells and Dean Kremer — have been reassigned to minorleague camp. But Zimmermann remains, having struck out nine in 7 innings while allowing four runs.
“Obviously, I want to stay here as long as possible,” he said. “I just want to take care of it and go out every five days. But it’s great to still be up here with the team and taking full advantage of the opportunity that they’re giving me right now.”
After right-hander Cody Carroll mixed three singles among three strikeouts in the fourth inning to allow a run for the first time in five spring outings, the Rays seemed braced to widen Baltimore’s deficit.
Right-hander Branden Kline, a Frederick native, got the first two outs of the fifth before allowing three straight Rays to reach on a single and two walks. In came Isaac Mattson, a right-hander who was one of the four pitchers the Orioles acquired in trading Dylan Bundy to the Los Angeles Angels in December.
Mattson got Díaz to ground to shortstop to leave the bases loaded, though the Orioles were unable to score against Tampa Bay’s pitching.
During the game, the Orioles announced they agreed to one-year contracts with the players on their 40-man roster who are not yet eligible for arbitration.
Pitchers Carroll, Kremer, Shawn Armstrong, Keegan Akin, Paul Fry, Hunter Harvey, David Hess, Travis Lakins Sr., John Means, Evan Phillips, Tanner Scott, Cole Sulser, Dillon Tate and Asher Wojciechowski and position players Chance Sisco, Pedro Severino, Austin Wynns, Richie Martin, Renato Núñez, Ramón Urías, Rio Ruiz, Austin Hays, Ryan McKenna, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Dwight Smith Jr., Anthony Santander and DJ Stewart — all of whom have fewer than the three years of service time required to be arbitration-eligible — are under contract for the 2020 season.