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The Detroit Tigers have agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract with free agent pitcher Jordan Zimmerman, according to CBS Sports.
This is huge news for a Tigers team that has been trying to replace Max Scherzer after losing him to the Washington Nationals last off-season. Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million deal to leave Detroit, which the Tigers weren’t willing to offer. One year later, they reportedly signed Zimmerman for half of that contract. Detroit will now have a competitive starting rotation again like it had for many years. The Tigers first-round pick is protected, but they will forfeit a second-rounder to the Nationals for the signing of Zimmerman.
zimmermann and tigers have reached a deal
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 29, 2015
The 29-year-old held a 3.66 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 164 strikeouts over 201 2/3 innings for the Nationals in 2015. The ERA and WHIP were career-highs as well as hits (204) and home runs (24). It wasn’t the best season for the two-time All-Star yet he still got the contract he was looking for. In 2014, he delivered a 2.66 ERA after winning 19 games in 2013. The right-hander might be one of the more overlooked pitchers in the game. Stephen Strasburg and now Scherzer have received the most attention in Washington. The move to Detroit could be the opportunity for Zimmerman to be looked at as the ace of a rotation. Justin Verlander had a bounce-back season with a solid 3.38 ERA. The former AL MVP and Cy Young winner found his groove during the final two months of the season when he failed to have a quality start only once. It’s a great sign for 2015 if the same Verlander of the last two months shows up alongside Zimmerman at the top of the rotation. If you factor in a healthy Daniel Norris, they will have a rotation that might be able to hang with the Cleveland Indians and the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the AL Central.
The Nationals now have to fill the hole left by the departure of Zimmerman. Their rotation will consist of Scherzer, Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Doug Fister is a free agent and could very well not be in Washington next season. Tanner Roark might have the opportunity to rejoin the rotation after floating between there and the bullpen the last few seasons. Joe Ross had 13 starts in his rookie season. He might have the opportunity to begin the season in the rotation for the Nats. Zack Greinke is the biggest free agent pitcher out there. It would be a Scherzer-like deal in order to get him in Washington, which makes the deal unlikely. Marco Estrada might be the other biggest free agent name out there. The right-hander pitched to a 3.13 ERA in Toronto last season.
