By the way, the Detroit Tigers visit Washington, D.C.to play the Nationals from May 9-11 in 2016.
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Zimmermann would be the former. “Zimmermann was the number one guy on both the scouts and analytical department’s list”, Avila said.
“Overall, we got our man”.
Last night, fans were given reason to believe that their wish might actually come true.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports is reporting the Tigers and Jordan Zimmermann have agreed to a contract. The move is also considered a risk because Zimmermann has logged more than 1,000 innings since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2009. I’m gonna attack hitters; I’m gonna throw strikes.
There will likely be an adjustment to the American League and a more competitive division, but Brad Ausmus will gladly send him out to the mound every fifth day. He wasn’t interested in waiting around. “Other teams that were out there, I was the second or third option”. “I want the best players”. “I didn’t really know it (fastball) was down that much, but I’m not concerned at all”. He still has outstanding control – a major driver in his two top-10 finishes in WAR for National League pitchers in 2012 and 2014 – but with decreased stuff, he missed fewer bats, became more homer-prone and finished the year as a slightly above-average starter whose indicators were pointing down.
“I think I proved that”, Ilitch said when asked about his willingness to open the purse strings. The right-hander is from Wisconsin which is only a short plane trip from Detroit.
He is a front-line starting pitcher. An optimist looks at that and says that those players will get better. But with any pitcher you sign, you’re going to have risks. “So that’s an advantage”.
“One of the biggest things is that they had me as a No. 1 target”.
“We just love this guy”, Avila said. Anibal Sanchez has never thrown 200 innings in a season and is coming off a year in which he allowed a league-high 29 homers.
“He’s going to battle out there”.
“He’s a leader. He’s a quiet leader and he leads by example”.
When the Winter Meetings convene next week in Nashville, the Tigers will be looking for another reliever and starter, apparently not at the same cost as Zimmermann. After posting a 2.66 ERA, striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings and recording 6.28 strikeouts for every one walk in 2014, Zimmermann saw his numbers decline this past season.
“The fact that he is a workhorse is one part of it. There’s a competitive nature, and he also has the leadership, character and work ethic”.
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The right-hander gets $18 million in each of the next two seasons, $24 million in 2018 and $25 million in each of the final two years. The Tigers made their bid for Zimmermann, and he was willing to strike a deal quickly.
