The contract extension the Washington Nationals have been working on with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman for nearly three years is finally a reality. The team announced Monday it has signed Zimmerman to a five-year, $45 million deal that will buy out the 24-year-old's final two years of arbitration and his first two years of free agency.
It is the richest deal in Nationals or Expos history, surpassing the five-year, $28 million deal Vladimir Guerrero signed with the franchise in 1999. Agent Brodie Van Wagenen said the two sides first discussed a long-term deal on Dec. 6, 2006. Since then, team president Stan Kasten said they've gone through "1,000 permutations" of a deal, discussing everything from a four-year deal to a 10-year contract.
The deal does not include a no-trade clause, and Zimmerman, who said again Monday he doesn't want to play his whole career for a perennial loser, could try to force his way out of town if the team doesn't improve in several seasons. But the Nationals wanted to make the fifth year a team option, and Zimmerman's side pushed for it to be guaranteed.
Whether that was a show of loyalty or an effort to get more financial security, it's hard to say. But Zimmerman, for better or worse, is going to be a member of the Nationals for a long time.
"They went after some people this offseason. I think next offseason, they'll take another step and go after some more people. We're really not that far away. ... I really don't think we're that far, and it's not going to be that hard to do it," Zimmerman said. "I don't think if I didn't have the trust in them that I would've done this deal. If someone says you're going to lose 100 games every year, there's no way I'm going to stay there. I enjoy winning, and I think we're going to do it."
NATIONALS 3, BRAVES 2: In a game that didn't start until 9:15 p.m. because of a rain delay, right-hander Jordan Zimmermann earned the win in his big-league debut, giving up two runs in six innings. The Nationals fell behind 2-0 when Matt Diaz homered off Zimmermann in the fourth, but they scored two runs in the inning and took the lead for good on Jesus Flores' RBI single in the sixth.
