The Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman are reportedly close to a long-term contract extension, with no-trade language being the largest remaining hurdle. The third baseman's self-imposed deadline for a new deal is 10am ET this morning, as MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports (on Twitter). Here's the latest, with the newest info up top…
- Rizzo said the two sides made progress and the Nats believe a deal will be struck either tonight or early tomorrow, according to Kilgore, Zuckerman, and Comak (all Twitter links). "We feel good and optimistic Zim is going to be a Washington National for a long, long time," said the GM. "I don't see any major stumbling blocks. More detail-oriented work that needs to be done."
- "Nothing is done until it's done, but both sides are optimistic," said Zimmerman's agent Brodie Van Wagenen in a statement according to Comak and Kilgore (all Twitter links). "While nothing is finalized, I am confident we can reach an agreement … [we are] working on a structure that will allow the team to continue to add talent and establish a winner."
- A source told ESPN's Jim Bowden that there will be closure to negotiations tonight, one way or the other (Twitter link).
- Zimmerman acknowledged that the no-trade issue is "basically the only thing left" to settle, tweets Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.
- Rizzo told reporters (including Kilgore and Comak) that they're working on a "very lucrative, very complicated" extension (Twitter links). "We don't have an agreement at this time," confirmed the GM.
- "Today is the day," Zimmerman said to reporters after today's workout, including Amanda Comak of The Washington Times (Twitter links). "Both sides are working to get over the last couple of hurdles." He said they've gone back and proposed a "creative" solution to bridge the gap.
- The deadline has passed and players are out on the field for their workout, report Ladson and Kerzel (Twitter links). There is no word as to whether an extension has been reached.
- "The ball has been in the Nationals' court for quite some time," said Zimmerman to reporters, including Ladson (Twitter links). "I'm waiting like the rest of you."
- GM Mike Rizzo responded with a simple "no" when asked if there was anything new to report, says Pete Kerzel of MASNSports.com (on Twitter).
- Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington mentions that the deadline is a soft deadline, and something could still get worked out in the near future (Twitter links). He points out that Zimmerman's last contract was announced three weeks after its deadline.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
This is one of those instances where I am just left scratching my head. After this season is over, Zimmerman will only be 2 years removed from being a 10/5 guy, at which point he has no-trade protection anyway. If the Nats are looking to extend him, it seems pretty apparent that Zimmerman would be in DC for at LEAST those 2 years while this team that has just been built gets a chance to compete and finish coming into its own.
Is it REALLY that important to be able to trade Zimmerman in the next 2 years? And if so, what does that say about the “building” of the team?
Agreed. NTC in exchange for the healthy discount Zimmerman was offering seemed like a no-brainer to me.
Ryan Zimmerman will soon be in the league 10 years? Jeez…how old am I?
I was thinking the exact same thing then i looked it up on fangraphs he made his major league debut in 2005 but was not a full time player untill 2006 so he will be a 10/5 guy either in 2015 or 2016(depending on how the league looks at his 20 games and 62 PA’s in 2005
At the end of the 2010 season Zimmerman missed the last 2 weeks with an oblique strain. Then last year he had the same sort of injury early in Spring Training. He said it was a non-factor but it got worse when the season started and eventually led to an abdominal tear that required surgery. His throwing motion wasn’t the same after coming back. There was also the shoulder injury he had back in 2008 that sidelined him for a long time.
When he’s healthy he’s amazing. I just think Nats management wants to see that he can stay healthy.
It would simply seem to make more sense to me to tie Zimmerman’s contract length or total dollars to his health, and not an NTC. If there are health concerns, either shorten the contract, or, provide incentive boosters for any production above average.
But if he is going to be on the team for 2 more years (injured or not), he’ll have no-trade protection anyway. He could spend an entire season on the shelf injured. Once he reaches 10/5, it won’t matter if the Nats included the NTC in his contract or not. Extending him for even one season beyond his current contract will make him a 10/5 player. So in essence, the Nats refusing to include the NTC is saying that they want the ability to trade him in the first year of his extension. That makes no sense.
Exactly. And it sounds like Zimmerman is giving them a healthy home town discount in exchange for a 3-4 year NTC. It seems like a no-brainer to me.
I guess they might be “worried” that if Rendon progresses quickly they might need that 2 year window to have at least a little flexibility. Even if Zim is the one you keep, having the option of trading him should give you better leverage if you shop Rendon, no?
Just spitballing though, can’t think of any other reasons it would be a holdup if they’re in agreement on money.
if rendon progresses quickly they could simply move Zimmerman to 1st and solve that problem. It would also actually help Zimmerman have a longer career. We all heard(im not even a nats fan) from espn, mlb network and other sites and publications out there. After his injury last year he had to change the way he was doing things. He had to change the way he fielded/ charged balls, the way he threw was changed, and his swing was altered. Moving him to first solves 2 of those issues. The first basemen rarely has to throw unless throwing home or to try and start a double play. 1st basemen dont normally charge balls. It could actually benefit him to move to 1st and extend his career
Of course it’s an option (as is moving Rendon to another position), but they probably want to have as many options as possible. What if they have a better 1st baseman than Zim (at least offensively) when the time comes to make the decision? Not saying it’s likely, but you never know what it will look like when you have to make these decisions.
I wouldn’t flinch at giving him the NTC over those years if the deal is nice, of course, but maybe they want to hold on to a little flexibility. Dunno.
he very well may want the NTC for those two years. Lets say the Nats play well this year and struggle next season. But but the 2014 season lets say Rendon is ready to start in the bigs. I know its a stretch but the nats seem willing to get guys going fast. Stras 2 years ago and possibly even harper this season. If rendon is ready Zimmerman might be expendable(at least for a salary dump and to get some prospects back) his 10-5 rights not havin kicked in yet he could be traded.
Wont Zimmerman have 10 and 5 rights soon anyways? Why is this a holdup?
Service time is somewhat more complicated than some people think. From what I have sussed out, a year is defined as 172 days (there are something like 185 days in the regular season) and DL stints do count. But even though there are more days in a season than in a year of service, the player can still only earn those 172 days each year.
In any event, according to Baseball-Reference Ryan Zimmerman has 6.032 years of service time as of January 2012. So it seems like right at the end of the 2015 season is where his 10-5 rights would kick in. That’s almost four full seasons, which makes it a bigger deal than some people are making it out to be.
Okay yea I was just wondering!
5 years – 80 Million + vesting option for the 6th year (around same AAV) sounds about right to me.. I would throw in the no trade clause too because his 10-5 rights will kick in after 2014 anyways.
my whole weekend is ruined because I have been waiting in front of my computer.
This is done according to Kilgore. Good stuff.