Washington Nationals: A theoretical week as GM this offseason

Day 6 – Reworking Zimmerman’s current deal

Now after a long five days, we’ve got the most important areas of the Washington Nationals addressed ahead of 2019. So now we’re playing with house money with the other moves that we make this week.

After another productive but injury-plagued season, it’s time to ensure that Ryan Zimmerman can remain a National for life. We can do so by trimming some annual value off of his contract too and giving us room for those final roster tweaks.

The first face of the franchise is due $18 million in 2019 and has a $2 million buyout on his $18 million option in 2020. His current annual average is also a restricting $16.67 million, which is way above where it should be, despite his stature.

So I ring up Zimm and get some intern in marketing to whip up a compilation of all his walk-off home runs, and big moments in his career. Surely, he can’t leave that and he wants to retire as a Nat after seeing that emotional video.

Then after we’ve used all the tissued for our tears, it’s time to talk extension. As you’d expect, Zimmerman is fairly humble and knows that he’s not quite worth the annual average he currently gets, so we get down to business with his agent Brodie Van Wagenen.

In the end, we’re able to bring the annual average all the way down below $10 million, signing him up for the next three years. We also include a mutual option just in case he continues to defy Father Time with a late-career renaissance. This contract should see Zimmerman retire as a National one way or the other. Just as it should be.

Contract Signed: Ryan Zimmerman signs a 3-year $30 million deal with a fourth-year mutual option for $8 million.