VIERA, Fla. (AP) - Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and the Washington Nationals agreed to a $3.325 million, one-year deal for 2009, avoiding arbitration.
Zimmerman was the last player in the major leagues scheduled for an arbitration hearing. His was to take place Friday in Arizona, which is why he missed Washington's first full-squad workout of spring training Thursday.He was the last Nationals player without a contract in place for the coming season.
"He's the face of this franchise, so it's totally different when he's here with us," manager Manny Acta said. "We can't wait to get him here."
Acta expects Zimmerman to be at the team's camp Saturday.
Zimmerman and the Nationals met right at the midpoint of their arbitration figures: Zimmerman had submitted $3.9 million, while the Nationals had countered with $2.75 million.
The 2009 contract calls for performance bonuses of $75,000 for 500 plate appearances, and $50,000 each for 550 and 600 plate appearances.
Zimmerman made $465,000 last season, when he batted .283 with 14 homers and 51 RBIs while limited to 428 at-bats because of a left shoulder injury.
Overall, players went 2-1 against clubs in cases that went before an arbitrator. Florida second baseman Dan Uggla ($5.35 million) and Washington right-hander Shawn Hill ($775,000) received their figures, while Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro ($2.1 million) had to settle for the club's proposal.
Owners finished without a winning record for the first time since 1996, when they were 3-7.
Zimmerman was taken by the Nationals with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft out of the University of Virginia and made his big league debut that September.
In 2006, his first full season, Zimmerman hit .287 with 20 homers and 110 RBIs and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting to Florida's Hanley Ramirez. He has a career batting average of .282 with 58 homers and 258 RBIs.
Asked what he expects from Zimmerman this season, Acta said: "Twenty-five-plus (homers) and 100 RBIs, and hopefully more people other than me are watching him play at third base this year and he can get a Gold Glove."
Acta noted that Zimmerman has put in time working in the offseason with new Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein.
"He's making some adjustments that are going to make him better," Acta said. "He's eliminating a few of the extra body movements that he had before and this can only help him, because it's going to help him see the ball better, recognize pitches better and everything else will be better."
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