Tigers' next free agent pitcher to be much less expensive

Dec 02, 2015, 01:39

The first major free-agent prize of this off-season has gone to the Tigers, who came to terms with former Nationals ace Jordan Zimmermann on Sunday on a deal worth a reported 0 million over five years.

General manager Al Avila hasn't given any indication as to their 2016 budget, so there's no way of knowing how much money he has left to spend on another starter and at least one more relief pitcher.

"I'm not concerned at all", he said. Illitch said, "They (management) get the players, and I spend because they have good judgement".

Following four straight AL Central titles, the Tigers finished last this year.

Detroit still has Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez signed to expensive contracts.

But Detroit has been active early this offseason. Detroit has also traded for closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Cameron Maybin, and the signing of Zimmermann is a sign that the Tigers are still willing to make a big financial commitment to putting a winning team on the field.

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. As part of the agreement announced Monday, he has a full-no trade provision through 2018, then can be dealt to 10 teams without his permission during 2019-20. Zimmermann spent the first seven years of his major-league career pitching for the Washington Nationals, posting a 3.32 ERA and a 3.40 FIP in over 1,000 career innings. The previous high for a Tommy John patient was $97.5-million over five years by Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The career Washington National also noted that while he was clearly a fallback option for other teams still weighing whether they'd be able to sign the likes of David Price, Zack Greinke or Johnny Cueto, he appreciated Detroit making him a priority. Questions arose whether a dip in velocity had anything to do with the right-hander's struggles.

Jordan Zimmermann might not be considered a No. 1 starter, but he was the Tigers' top choice to step into their rotation this offseason. "I didn't want to wait until January into February". "We knew what my value was".

The seeds of the deal were planted when Avila reached out on the first day of free agency, Zimmermann's agent Mark Pieper said, and by nightfall on Friday, the talks were of a serious nature. This was a great deal for the Tigers, who needed to shore up their rotation after losing Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, and Rick Porcello the last few seasons leading to their starting rotation becoming one of the worst in baseball last season.

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