Jordan Zimmermann

Today the Nationals bolstered their starting rotation for the second time this season, agreeing to terms on a one-year contract with free agent righty Edwin Jackson. Dollar values of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but the deal is rumored to be worth somewhere in the ballpark of $8-$12 million*. According to reports, Mike Rizzo and company first started talking to Scott Boras (Jackson’s agent) about this deal about a week and a half ago, and after roughly 11 days of negotiating; Jackson will be pitching in DC for the 2012 season. Jackson spent time with the White Sox [...]

Jon Heyman (via Twitter) has reported that the Nationals will sign Edwin Jackson to a 1-year deal. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, however, Heyman projects the deal to be in the $8-12 million range. The Nationals did announce the contract agreement this morning, so we know the report is for real. Jackson will join a staff that figures to include Gio Gonzalez, Steven Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and John Lannan, though according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, the Nats are aggressively shopping Lannan. The deal is pending a physical.

Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Nationals held a formal press conference to introduce Gio Gonzalez to the local media and fans. These typically take place shortly after deals are officially completed, but due to timing and logistical factors, the press conference itself comes just over a month after the trade was completed and nearly two weeks after Gonzalez (who was a high school teammate of first baseman Chris Marrero – cool fact) signed a contract extension with the organization. Most Nationals blogs have already dissected and discussed the addition of Gonzalez to the projected starting rotation – we did this over [...]

A hallmark of the Washington Nationals surprising 80-win season in 2011 was their fine bullpen. According to Baseball-Reference.com, the pen’s 31 wins topped all National League staffs (the Miami Marlins were second with 30). The Nationals bullpen pitched 520.2 innings (source: MLB.Com), second most in the NL behind Atlanta’s 522.1. Their 3.20 ERA marked the fourth best in the NL and the fifth lowest in major league baseball. Overall, the Nationals’ bullpen contributed more to the club’s third place finish than any other facet. All-Star Tyler Clippard cemented his place as one of the National League’s top set-up men with [...]

Wednesday morning was the deadline for teams and players to submit figures for upcoming arbitration hearings, barring the two sides reaching an agreement before the deadline. The Washington Nationals were able to come to an agreement with backup catcher Jesus Flores yesterday and three additional players today. All three are pitchers – Tyler Clippard, Tom Gorzelanny, and Jordan Zimmermann. Terms have not been reported regarding the value of Clippard’s contract. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that Gorzelanny will earn $2.7 Million for the 2012 season while Zimmermann will earn $2.3 Million. While on its surface the discrepancy between Gorzelanny and [...]

In 41 days players will begin reporting to the Nationals’ Spring Training home in Viera, Florida. For the most part it would seem the team’s roster is set, though there are still a few holes that will need to be addressed. Of course, there will need to be some resolution to all of the Prince Fielder rumors by then too. There weren’t any significant moves from the weekend to discuss, but there are a few notes from some of the team’s beat writers worth passing along. Pete Kerzel of MASN Sports tries to pinpoint how the team is going to [...]

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney has been busy lately, counting down a number of rankings to lead off the year across Major League Baseball. Olney’s rankings have included looks at the top teams, lineups, infield, outfield, bullpen, and starting rotation. He’s also had quite a few notes and thoughts on the Prince Fielder speculation mixed in. Most of his posts are behind the ESPN Insider wall, but the Nationals have been mentioned repeatedly so let’s take a quick look at his latest. Finishing off his rankings, Olney listed his first Power Rankings of 2012. Tampa leads the list for now, thanks largely [...]

Over at his Nats Insider blog, Mark Zuckerman (who’s quickly become one of my favorite Nationals writers) took a fairly thorough look at the organization’s future payroll obligations in the coming years. It’s an important topic to consider, particularly with the ongoing speculation and discussions centered on whether the Nationals are a serious contender to sign Prince Fielder. Without any additional moves, the team is looking at a 2012 payroll in the vicinity of $70 Million – roughly the same place they were in 2011. By 2015, that figure could rise above $100 Million for the first time in franchise history [...]

When putting together a list of names to be considered for the all-time Washington Nationals team, one may have to swallow their pride a bit and realize that the quality of names being considered will not be on par with some of the teams that have had 50 years to a century of tradition.  You may have to take into account fan-favorites or one-hit wonders that would be overlooked on other clubs all-time teams due to their storied pasts.  With that being said, I’m going to do my best to put together a position-by-position Washington Nationals all-time roster.  Here goes [...]

Yesterday, GM Mike Rizzo led a group of Nationals officials that went to visit free agent left-hander Mark Buehrle at his home. Buehrle appears to be at the top of the wish list for the Nats, followed by fellow free agent starters Roy Oswalt and C.J. Wilson. Buehrle appears to be the easiest to get, as Oswalt and Wilson have not won a World Series, so they are looking for a team that has a definite chance at competing immediately.  Buehrle on the other hand already has a ring, and the Nationals could compete next year anyway, so he appears [...]