Blue Jays offseason: 5 realistic free agent starters

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After signing five different contracts in six year with the Washington Nationals, Jordan Zimmerman looks to get a bit more job security entering this offseason. Zimmerman was offered a qualifying offer by the Nationals, but will most likely decline the offer – you can only play so long in a constant string of contract years looming over your every pitch. Zimmerman has been nothing but the epitome of a consistent starting pitcher. Some of his numbers would suggest he’s nearing an ace-level status, but not even at thirty years old yet, Zimmerman is still looking for that dominating break-out season.

Since 2012, Zimmerman has made at least 32 starts a year pitching an average of 202.1 innings per season. In that time, Zimmerman’s ERA has been below 3.00 on two different occasions and the two time All-Star has posted a consistent WAR of 3.8 (average) in that four year stretch.

Zimmerman, in 2015, posted another solid season. Pitching to a 3.66ERA in 201.2 IP, Zimmerman had solid numbers despite having poor performance from his fastball, arguably his best pitch. From 2011-2014 Zimmerman’s average wFB was 9.2, but in 2015, that number dipped all the way to -10.6. Although his Slider and Curveball remain consistent year in and year out, that fastball performance is what will take Zimmerman to that next level of dominance.

Zimmerman will attract mid-to high level money from a lot of teams. At the end of 2013, Zimmerman signed a short term/big money contract, getting twenty-four million over two years. Zimmerman is going to be a hot topic over the next few weeks of the offseason. His value could potentially flirt with $20 million per season.

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