With Spring Training a month away, still no sign of a Zimmerman deal

With Spring training just a month away, the Nationals roster looks set for the upcoming season. However there is one glaring Ryan Zimmerman sized hole.

Ryan Zimmerman has been a free agent ever since the team declined his team 18 million team option for 2020. This came as no surprise as even Zimmerman had acknowledged this was expected. The Nats made it clear they were going to work out a deal to bring back their longest  tenured player, but this has yet to happen.

Earlier in the week, I wrote a piece on the Nationals current crossroads, and in it I touched on the Ryan Zimmerman conundrum. As it is now, Eric Thames was signed to a one year deal and will be platooning with Howie Kendrick at first base. In this piece I go on to explain that despite the addition of Thames, the Nats should bring back the 35 year old for one last hurrah. And the theme of the off-season has been bringing the gang back together. This can be seen as the Nats re-signed Stephen Strasburg, Howie Kendrick, Asdrubal Cabrera, Yan Gomes, and Daniel Hudson. Now the franchise should be waiting at the door with open arms for the return of Zimmerman to top off the off-season. After all, he is the teams first ever first round pick, and since 2005, he has been a staple of not only the Nats, but D.C. sports.

Back in early December, Zimmerman was asked about his future of the team and stated, “I think I’ve made my intentions pretty clear,”. “It’s either play some more here or play more golf.” He added “Both sides want something to happen. So it’s just a matter of getting something done,” he said. “We’ll see what happens, but I’m not too worried about it.” Zimmerman has made it clear that he wants to return and that the ball is in the Nationals court. It was assumed a deal would be completed but two weeks into January, nothing has been finalized. Just what is taking the front office so long?

Saturday, January 12 started the Nationals annual Winter Fest, where the players come to the stadium and the fans and media arrive to get autographs and interviews. A reoccurring topic of discussion with Mike Rizzo was on the fate of Zimmerman. When discussing Zimmerman, Rizzo answered, “Zim? Had a great conversation with Zim,”. “He was in my office — I can’t remember — earlier this week, Tuesday or something like that, and we talked for about an hour and a half and I love him.” Rizzo added, “He’s a guy that we’re talking to,”. “and we’re not going to discuss that, but he’s a guy that some day there will be a statue with his likeness on it here in center field and we’d love for him to end his career here in Washington.” According to Spotrac, the Nationals have 12.4 million left in cap space. That is more than enough to re-sign Zimmerman and stay under the luxury.

If Zimmerman is re-signed, the Nats will have an influx of infielders, which Dave Martinez can use to his advantage. It will Martinez to give extra rest to his aging veterans. He will have more options to play “match-up” with. Kendrick has showed he can play multiple positions and can move over to split time at second base with Starlin Castro allowing Zimmerman to platoon with Thames. This would be the best option due to how well Zimmerman and Thames hit against lefties and righties respectively.  In fact last season, Zimmerman hit .367 with an OPS of .966 against lefties, while Thames hit 23 of his 25 homers against righties. This seems like a platoon match made in heaven. Then how come a deal hasn’t been completed?

Hard to say. As previously stated, both sides have made it clear they want to reach a new deal. Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington had an interesting take on the situation. He stated, “It could be tethered to Josh Donaldson. The Nationals would have to surpass the CBT to sign Donaldson, which could close Zimmerman’s window to return. Washington creeps toward an over-populated infield roster if Donaldson is on it. He would be the everyday third baseman, Trea Turner would play most days at shortstop, Starlin Castro almost daily at second base, plus Asdrúbal Cabrera, Howie Kendrick and Eric Thames would need to find a way at least into the batter’s box. Zimmerman’s services are unnecessary and redundant at that point.” If this is the case, then the Zimmerman situation might not end for a while as Josh Donaldson looks content on taking his time.

Zimmerman’s teammates cannot imagine a world without him still in the fold and still want him back. Trea Turner gave his opinion on the situation. “No, not really,”. “We’ve lost Bryce, we’ve lost Tony. J-Dub, quite a few people since I’ve been here as kind of cornerstone guys we’ve gone, moved on without, which isn’t always fun. I hope Zimm’s back, obviously. He is Mr. National. The President”. Indeed he is. That’s why this situation is so wild. With the front office, fans, and his teammates all wanting Zimmerman back, it is hard to fathom how a deal hasn’t been completed yet.

Sean Doolittle gave an in depth analysis of on what Zimmerman means to the franchise. “I just feel like he’s … such an important part of the clubhouse dynamic,”. “He was one of the clubhouse leaders last year, and I know he battled some injuries, but I also know that I don’t think that he’s mentally or physically ready to be done yet. I think he still has some really good baseball ahead of him, and I’ve enjoyed playing with him so much, and I know so many of the guys on our team they have so much respect for him. Just think of what he means to this city and this organization.” He added, “The fact is, when he was healthy, he was really, really good for us,”. “So he proved he can still contribute. He had some huge moments in the postseason, the homer against the Dodgers in Game 4. The homer off [Gerrit] Cole in the World Series.” “Just to name a few. That diving catch against the Cardinals? You know. He’s still got it.”

Now it’s up to the franchise to make the next move. Hopefully it’s the right one.