Phillies activate Brandon Marsh from IL, designate Bradley Zimmer for assignment

The Phillies have activated outfielder Brandon Marsh from the 10-day IL, the team announced Saturday. Outfielder Bradley Zimmer was designated for assignment, opening a spot for Marsh on the active roster.

The 24-year-old second-year outfielder, who arrived in Philadelphia in a deadline deal that sent catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe to the Angels, hardly had a chance to get his feet wet in Philly before a sprained left ankle sent him to the IL. The injury was evidently fairly minor, however, as Marsh’s activation comes on his first day of eligibility.

Marsh will likely take over center field duties for the Phils, but he may also share time with the versatile Matt Vierling, who had split time in center with Zimmer in Marsh’s absence. Given Friday’s return of Bryce Harper to the DH slot, which forces both Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos to play the field to keep their bats in the lineup, center field takes on added importance in Philadelphia.

Fortunately for the Philly faithful, Marsh has rated out as a bit above-average defensively by most metrics, but his offensive production has lagged a bit. For his short career, he owns a .239/.299/.352 batting line (good for an 81 wRC+), including a .228/.285/.349 mark (78 wRC+) in 2022, but playing his home games in Philadelphia’s hitter-friendly Citizen’s Bank Park should help those numbers.

The 29-year-old Zimmer, who also rates out as above-average with the glove but owns a .215/.300/.337 career triple-slash, may opt to stick it out with the Phillies if he goes unclaimed, but he could be picked up by a contender in need of a glove-first reserve outfielder. Still, he’ll likely be looking for his fourth (or fifth) major-league team in the offseason. After appearing in parts of five season with Cleveland, he began 2022 with the Blue Jays before he was claimed by the Phillies the same day Marsh hit the IL.