Zimmermann to Detroit - 5yrs, $110MM

[madj55]

5 years, $110M.

Good luck, JZ.

[PC]

Good luck, JZ.

Except on May 9-11

[PC]

And that's less than he was offered by the Nationals.

[madj55]

James Wagner ‏@JamesWagnerWP  7s7 seconds ago
.@jonmorosi says Jordan Zimmermann has 5-year, $110M deal with Tigers pending a physical. Nats offered 5-year, $105M extension last winter.

[HalfSmokes]

So he still got more even after a down year?

[HalfSmokes]

And that's less than he was offered by the Nationals.

What did the nats offer

[imref]

So he still got more even after a down year?

So five million with a worse shot at the ws?  He like Desmond should have taken the offer we gave.

[GburgNatsFan]

He must have simply wanted out. Detroit is closer to Wisconsin, but not enough closer to make a difference for the amount of times he could get back home during the season. An extra hour or so on a plane to fly from DC.

[HalfSmokes]

So five million with a worse shot at the ws?  He like Desmond should have taken the offer we gave.

coming off of the worst year of his career, he still beat the nats offer, he gambled, lost, and still got more than the nats offered

[Expos]

Well there goes 200 innings that wont be replaced.

Even in a down year JZ is a legit #2. If we lose Strasburg next year the dynamics of this team will drastically change.

We should have gave him the extra 5 mil.

[mitlen]

Well there goes 200 innings that wont be replaced.

Even in a down year JZ is a legit #2. If we lose Strasburg next year the dynamics of this team will drastically change.

We should have gave him the extra 5 mil.

Good luck and goodbye.

[sizzlin]

Well there goes 200 innings that wont be replaced.

Even in a down year JZ is a legit #2. If we lose Strasburg next year the dynamics of this team will drastically change.

We should have gave him the extra 5 mil.

Zimm was pretty mediocre last year. I wouldn't break the bank for a guy that seems to be on the downside of his career.

[Lintyfresh85]

Tigers pick is protected so we only get a 2nd round pick for JZ.

[BrandonK]

Tigers pick is protected so we only get a 2nd round pick for JZ.

Nope, they lose their second -- Nats still get a comp pick, but since the Tigers don't forfeit a pick, it's at 1 lower (higher?) spot.

[whytev]

Nope, they lose their second -- Nats still get a comp pick, but since the Tigers don't forfeit a pick, it's at 1 lower (higher?) spot.

Where do those go? Between first and second rounds?

[Mattionals]

Where do those go? Between first and second rounds?

Si.

[imref]

Cameron says JZ signed for far less than expected and now it hurts Cueto's value. Expectation was around 6/$126 for JZ. Says the $110 deal is fair.

[Slateman]

I think it's worth noting that the Nats 5/105 offer was including a "home town discount"

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Tigers pick is protected so we only get a 2nd round pick for JZ.

no, we get a pick between the 1st and 2d round either way under the current CBA.  they just lose a 2d not a 1st because of the protection.

[BrandonK]

Doing the Nats a solid and lowering the price on mid-tier starters? Good guy, Zmann: http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/jordan-zimmermann-signs-with-detroit-tigers-hot-stove-rumors-free-agency-cubs-cardinals-112915

[welch]

Doing the Nats a solid and lowering the price on mid-tier starters? Good guy, Zmann: http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/jordan-zimmermann-signs-with-detroit-tigers-hot-stove-rumors-free-agency-cubs-cardinals-112915

No clear answer. Maybe Zmnn wanted to be closer to home but wanted to pitch for a competitive organization. That would leave the Cubs and the Tigers. Maybe the Cubs didn't bother to bid? Or the Tigers were more eager for a starting pitcher than the Cubs?

Given the contract, I think JZ should have taken the Nats offer. Money difference was trivial at those amounts. Maybe the Nats withdrew the offer during the season?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

While what the Nats offered last year was nearly as much as what JZ ended up getting, there's no evidence it was still on the table this offseason.  JZ gambled that he was not going to get burned by testing the market.  He won the gamble.  Even after his 2014, what was inferior to his 2012 - 2014, he did not lose money by not signing the Nats offer (he actually made some money).  This is nowhere near the miscalculation Desmond likely made.

[NJ Ave]

He won the gamble.

I don't know that I agree he "won" the gamble. If you average out fWAR and rWAR for Jordan Zimmermann and David Price, Zimmerman was worth 5.1 WAR in 2014 and Price was worth 5.3 WAR. Zimmermann is a year younger.

Of course, David Price then had a 6.2 WAR season this year, while Jordan Zimmermann had a 3.3 WAR season. So Price is going to get $200 million or whatever and Zimmerman will get a little over half that.

I don't think there's a chance in hell Zimmermann didn't think a great year would get him less than $150-160 million. He just didn't have a great year. Obviously he didn't "lose" the gamble, but I think we can say he didn't "win" it either. He walked away from the table even, so hopefully he enjoyed some free drinks

[HalfSmokes]

He lost the gamble with a sub par year, but still won in that he got to choose where he went and didn't worsen his situation by not signing the extension on the table

[NJ Ave]

He lost the gamble with a sub par year, but still won in that he got to choose where he went and didn't worsen his situation by not signing the extension on the table

Right, but what would we have said was the likely range of Zimmermann free agency contracts, preseason 2015? This contract has to be on the extremely low end of that range, if he was healthy. I guess he "won" the gamble that he stayed healthy last year, and I'm not discounting that gamble given how many pitchers get injured every year.

But if healthy I think we'd all probably have agreed that the lowest end of the range would have been 5/$100 million, high end probably 7/$161 million, midpoint 6/$132 million? Give or take?