It’s true that right-hander Jordan Zimmermann has fallen on hard times over the past few years, but it’s indisputable that he’s one of the top starters the Nationals have had since they moved from Montreal to Washington in advance of the 2005 season. A second-round pick two years later, Zimmermann debuted in Washington in 2009, but it took him until 2011 to break out. From then through 2015, Zimmermann logged five straight seasons of 3.0-plus fWAR, went to two All-Star Games, and posted a stingy 3.14 ERA/3.30 FIP with 7.26 K/9 against just 1.69 BB/9 in 971 2/3 innings. In yet another impressive accomplishment, Zimmermann threw the first no-hitter in Nationals history in 2014 (video here).
The year in which Zimmermann fired a no-no against the Marlins proved to be his penultimate season in a Nats uniform. He went on to parlay his success in D.C. into an expensive contract with the Tigers, who signed him for five years and $110MM before 2016. The Nationals haven’t missed him, though, while the Tigers surely wish they wouldn’t have taken such a big-money gamble. Zimmermann has never recorded an ERA below the mid-4.00s in a season in Detroit, where he has registered an overall 5.61 ERA/4.86 FIP through 508 2/3 frames in the first four years of his deal.
Considering how he has performed of late, not only does it look fortunate for the Nationals that they let Zimmermann walk, but doing so has a chance to continue benefiting the franchise for years to come. You see, by issuing Zimmermann a qualifying offer that he rejected, the Nationals received a high pick (No. 28) as compensation in the 2016 draft. They used that selection on on a Georgia-based high school shortstop named Carter Kieboom. There’s now a chance Kieboom will turn into a long-term linchpin at third base as the departed Anthony Rendon’s successor.
Now 22 years old, Kieboom has typically produced quality numbers in the minors – he batted .303/.409/.493 with 16 home runs in 494 plate appearances in his Triple-A debut in 2019 – and has rated among the majors’ highest-regarded prospects over the past couple seasons. In its most recent rankings, Baseball America (subscription link) placed Kieboom No. 1 in Washington’s system and 15th in all of baseball, calling him a potential “weapon” at the top of a lineup in MLB.
Kieboom was anything but a weapon during his first taste of MLB action last season, when he hit .128/.209/.282 in parts of April and May, but his woes only came over a 43-PA, 11-game sample size. The Nationals probably aren’t worried, though it remains to be seen how much of an impact he’ll make this season (let’s say one even happens). Kieboom hardly stood out in spring training, though you can take exhibition results with a grain of salt. Still, if the Nats don’t think Kieboom’s quite ready, they can plug Asdrubal Cabrera and perhaps Howie Kendrick in at the hot corner. Doing so likely wouldn’t stop the Nationals from believing Kieboom could be part of the solution over the long haul, and if he does eventually live up to the hype, it’ll be an added bonus for moving on from Zimmermann.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
This is why you shouldn’t invest hundreds of millions in aging pitchers, unless they’re Max Scherzer. The exception proves the rule.
Detroit let Scherzer go and signed Zimmerman. Stupid moves cost them their chance at a world series with Cabrerra and Verlander.
C’mon at that time who thought Scherzer was an over pay, turned out to be a bargain. The Nats know pitching.
I agree its 20/20 hindsight, but essentially trading zimmerman for for scherzer….
Mike Illich was going all-in to get back to the World Series before he died. He fired GM David Dombrowski over Summer 2015 and hired Al Avila as GM that fall and basically gave him a blank check
Greinke and Lester worked out fine.
Or Clemens(how many Cy Young’s he win after he was “in twilight”?) no definitives in life or Baseball.
PEDs kept him young.
Hahaha why would you name a player who was shooting up steroids between innings, when there are a lot of pitchers who pitched good or great late in their careers without syringes sticking out of their @$$ cheeks
There are a lot of aging pitchers who pitched well into their mid-to-late 30’s and beyond. The Big Unit, Schilling, Nolan Ryan, Mussina, Verlander, Scherzer, Sabathia and even Big Sexy. I guess you just need to know which ones to gamble on. Basically, do the exact opposite of what the Tigers did!
You just named 8 pitchers. In the past 40 years, there’s been a lot more than 8 pitchers. So I would say that your evidence is a little weak.
His velocity had dipped and the Nats made no effort to extend him before free agency. Over 1/3 of his innings during his final season in DC were against the Braves and Marlins, the worst two offenses in the NL. He was lights out against them. Mostly terrible facing anyone else with a competent lineup.
Don’t forget. The Nationals actually received the compensation pick to select Jordan Zimmermann when they let Alfonso Soriano walk in free agency.
After JZ signed with Detroit, The Washington Post reported The Nats actually pursued JZ aggressively, and wanted him back. But the Tigers made him an offer so big that they ultimately decided to pass on him.
JZ was 29 when he signed that Detroit deal. Look at some of the stud pitchers with FAT contracts in the last World Series. Greinke and Verlander 36. Scherzer 35. Corbin and Cole 30. You can lecture all you want about the dangers of signing pitchers to big contracts, but as the saying goes, “pitching is all about baseball”. It’s hit and miss.
It’s time to come home, JZ. If anyone can resurrect his pitching, it is Washington.