Report: Tigers, Jordan Zimmermann talking contract

By Joe Lucia

The Detroit Tigers finished dead last in the AL Central with a 74-87 record in 2015. Ex-GM Dave Dombrowski helped a rebuilding effort along at the trade deadline by dealing impending free agents Yoenis Cespedes and David Price to the Mets and Blue Jays, respectively. If you’re new Tigers GM Al Avila, the most logical thing to do would be to not spend a ton of money on free agents ... right?

Apparently not. According to a report from Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Tigers are in talks with former Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann about a contract, and it won’t exactly be a cheap one.

The story by Morosi and Rosenthal doesn’t contain many more details, though the pair does note that Zimmermann is expected to receive a nine-figure contract, the first-ever for a pitcher with a Tommy John surgery on his ledger.

To me, this is completely insane, even though the Tigers will sacrifice their second-round pick instead of their first if they sign Zimmermann, who received (and declined) a qualifying offer from the Nationals. Detroit already has $123.9 million tied up in just seven players on their 2016 payroll, and is devoting $110.8 million to five players (and two buyouts!) in 2017 (both of those payroll numbers include the $6 million of Prince Fielder’s contract that the Tigers are paying).

If you conservatively estimate a $15 million salary for Zimmermann, that payroll for next year is shooting up to near $140 million - for just one-third of the roster. Detroit has already invested plenty of money in Anibal Sanchez and Justin Verlander to bolster its rotation, and neither of those contracts have worked out well so far. Both contracts took effect for the 2013 season, and neither pitcher has performed up to expectations while getting paid a combined total of $107 million.

Besides, the Tigers had both Max Scherzer and Price in the fold, who are both better pitchers than Zimmermann with less checkered injury histories, and walked away from both (though Scherzer did receive a $210 million contract, and Price could approach that number as well). Zimmermann is the youngest and cheapest of the three, but he’s the least likely to be a top-of-the-rotation ace. And if you’re investing $100 million in a pitcher, isn’t that what you want?

Detroit has plenty of holes and questions (bullpen, catcher, left side of the infield, back end of the rotation, outfield aside from JD Martinez), plenty of money committed, and they’re not going to be able to spend their way back to the top of the American League. Adding Jordan Zimmermann doesn’t make the Tigers the favorite in the league, or even the division – it’s simply another new shiny contract to add to the collection of deals that could bog down this franchise for years to come.

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