The free agent and former Washington Nationals starter finished the 2015 season 13-10 with a 3.66 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 164 strikeouts in 33 starts (201 2/3 innings).
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In seven years with the Nationals, Zimmermann won 70 games while posting a 3.32 ERA.
Zimmermann officially signed a five-year deal Monday that will pay him $110 million through 2020.
FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal first reported Saturday night that Zimmermann was in discussions with the Tigers and that talks had become “serious”. I think part of the reason it got done quickly is because Jordan, I feel, this is where he wanted to play. The previous year, he went 14-5 with a 2.66 ERA.
Last offseason, the Tigers lost free agent starting pitcher Max Scherzer to the Nationals.
Zimmermann would slot in as Detroit’s No. 2 starter behind Justin Verlander and ahead of Anibal Sanchez and top prospect Daniel Norris.
The Tigers are well aware of the concerns regarding Zimmermann’s dip in velocity.
Zimmermann’s deal would call for an average annual salary of $22 million. Generally, Zimmermann was seen as the third or fourth best starter available this offseason, behind the likes of David Price and Zach Greinke.
The Tigers: Given the status of Detroit’s rotation, with questions all around, this could be a major stabilizer – even if Zimmermann only reproduces his worst season. So, Zimmermann is moving from an environment that is slightly better for hitters than it is for pitchers. He remained among the league leaders in walks per nine innings, however, and threw more than 200 innings for the second time in three seasons, and so in free agency asked interested clubs: Do you believe the body of work or the recent turn downward? It probably wasn’t that hard to convince Zimmermann to move back to the Midwest, but in this day in age, the fact that the move happened before the Winter Meetings was a bit shocking.
The 29-year-old right-hander was picked in the second round of the 2007 draft (37 picks after the Tigers selected Rick Porcello), and made it to the majors two seasons later, but needed Tommy John surgery before his rookie season was over.
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“We knew what my value was, and if we got semi-close to what I was worth, we were going to jump early”, Zimmermann said. “Because he was our top target and it’s very rare when you say to the owner, ‘This is the guy we’re going to get, we may not end up getting him, ‘ but it’s a pretty good feeling so thanks to Mr. Ilitch, we were able to do that”.
