The Tigers announced today that righty Jordan Zimmermann and outfielder Christin Stewart underwent surgeries to repair core muscle injuries. Both players are expected to be at full health for the start of camp.
In the case of Zimmermann, the news comes on the heels of another disappointing campaign in Detroit. The 32-year-old now carries a 5.24 ERA in his 396 2/3 innings since signing on with the club in advance of the 2016 campaign.
To be fair, Zimmermann did make some strides after a brutal 2017 showing. His swinging-strike rate jumped to 9.1%, the second-highest level in his career, though he continued to shed velocity. Zimmermann also posted a career-low 35.0% groundball rate and career-high 15.7% HR/FB rate, and ended the year with a 4.52 ERA, so there’s obviously still work to do.
Ultimately, the surgery represents another ding to a pitcher who simply hasn’t performed as hoped. With $50MM still owed over the two seasons to come, he wasn’t likely to be dealt regardless. But his situation is worth watching more closely now that his full no-trade protection has reverted to a partial no-trade clause. (He can block trades to all but ten teams.)
As for Stewart, a 2015 first-rounder who cracked the majors for the first time in 2018, the procedure won’t change the outlook in an appreciable manner. He impressed in a brief run at the big leagues, posting a .267/.375/.417 slash with two home runs and a strong 13:10 K/BB ratio over 72 plate appearances. Having posted big offensive numbers at each minor-league stop along the way, Stewart has likely earned a presumption of a big-league job in 2019.
Tons of teams lining up to trade for Zimmermann….lol….he’s been done for a while now….
I remember wanting my Tigers to sign Zim so badly…. safe to say it has not worked out.
Stewart seems to have great potential as far as plate discipline goes.
I feel like signing anybody in free agency nowadays is a bad idea. I remember wanting Mike Leake and Dexter Fowler so badly a while ago and they both turned into bad deals. Then you look at last year and the only guys who paid off were Cain and Martinez and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re viewed as bad deals when the contracts are up.
Former Tiger Anibal Sanchez was a nice signing, too.
I think he was only talking about expensive free agents though
If jdm or Cain put up another season like they did this they were already worth the money. Cain might tail off by year 4 or 5 because he relies on speed and defense heavily in his game but you have to be very pleased with that deal.
I didn’t want zim… I was hoping we’d keep price. Both have been bad. I hope we sign some hitters. Our offense was putrid. At least excite the fans with some runs. We stunk with Tettleton and Noke’s and Palmer, but we were fun to watch.
Try to be positive:
After 2018, Zimmermann loses full NTC; now 10-team NTC, with 2 yrs left, on the 5 year 110M.
I would like to see Logan Morrison signed to a minor league deal to platoon with Hicks at 1B. Replacing Adduci with some power would be nice.
Unlike his rookie teammate Christin Stewart, Zimmermann looks very much like he’s in the twilight of his career.
No one is trading for Zimmerman unless it is a swap of bad contracts
I calculate that a MLB generation lasts 7 years. To gain perspective of the Tigers contract situation. One more year and the contract of Justin Verlander is over. After 2020, the contracts of Jordan Zimmermann and Prince Fielder are up too. However, the contract of Miguel Cabrera goes on for another Baseball generation. There is near zero production for the Tigers from this group as a whole.
I predict that Jordan Zimmermann will be working for his next contract. He will work to improve throughout 2019 and finally have it together during 2020. Mid season 2020, he will be traded to a playoff team where he can showcase himself to a broad audience.