Some players quietly slip into free agency after seasons end. Bruce Zimmermann didn’t take that route. He chose to walk away in the middle of the Milwaukee Brewers’ playoff push.
Zimmermann, a lefty whose Major League resume includes stints with Baltimore and most recently Milwaukee, was signed by the Brewers to a minor league contract in December 2024. He spent the majority of 2025 in Triple-A Nashville, putting in 138 innings and posting a 4.11 ERA across 28 appearances, 21 of them starts.
As September rolled in and the Brewers’ rotation felt the stress of injuries, Zimmermann was selected to the big-league roster and given a spot start on Sept. 23 at San Diego. That start didn’t go great: six innings, five earned runs, just one strikeout. Almost immediately afterward, Milwaukee designated him for assignment.
He cleared waivers, was outrighted to Triple-A, and then elected free agency — while the Brewers were still alive in the postseason race.
It’s a maneuver rarely seen. The optics alone raise the eyebrows just a bit: a pitcher distancing himself from a team mid-push in hope of finding a different opportunity.
Milwaukee Pitcher Bruce Zimmermann Opted for Free Agency Soon After September Start
Zimmermann’s 2025 story had been fairly standard up to this point. The lefty spent most of the season at Triple-A Nashville, eating innings, doing the organizational grunt work that doesn’t make headlines but keeps rotations intact.
When Milwaukee’s rotation hit turbulence in September, he got the call. One uninspiring start, and a swift return to roster purgatory. The Brewers DFA’d him almost before the postgame spread went cold.
But on October 3, a day before Milwaukee opened the NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs , Zimmermann opted for free agency. To understand how weird this is, consider usual norms: roster decisions, signings, and free-agent moves almost always wait until after a season concludes. The postseason is for fighting, not for ferreting out new options.
But Zimmermann went a different route, ending this chapter as a free agent, in postseason limbo. His career MLB stats: 8–11 record, 5.64 ERA across three seasons with Baltimore and one with Milwaukee.
Bruce Zimmermann Took a Less-Traveled Path With Early Dive Into Free Agency
Did Zimmermann want to get a head start on his next opportunity, or was he just done? Zimmermann turns 31 in February. In professional wrestling parlance, did he just leave his boots in the ring?
To be clear, Zimmermann’s decision doesn’t put any heat on Milwaukee. Zimmermann had been outrighted, cleared waivers, and was back in Triple-A when he made the call to opt out. He’s too far down the depth chart to be concerned about any impact on future playoff games.
Still, you rarely see a player exit a team mid-October. Most players in his spot would ride it out, maybe grab a postseason share or at least enjoy the per diem.
Zimmermann apparently decided to get started on his next chapter, wherever that may take him.
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