Brewers sign Jordan Zimmermann

[Eye Black]

Minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training.

 

Per the Brewers Twitter account: Auburndale, Wisconsin resident RHP Jordan Zimmermann has been signed to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League camp.

[adambr2]

I would have been so excited about this in like 2014. He's looked done for years.

 

Oh well, local guy, take a shot and see what's left. Why not.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I called it LOL!

 

Fun move to see if a former standout starter has anything left in the tank.

[bjkrautk]

Low risk, decent option for that spot starter / bullpen long guy if he has a good camp. Nice story for the Wisconsin guy getting a chance to play in his home state.

[Eye Black]

It's not often you see a team sign a guy to a minor league contract that has already made more than $140 million playing baseball.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Lol. In 2012 I was sitting in a Seattle bar outside of Century Link before Monday Night Football with the Packers (yes, that game). I ended up talking for a long time with a guy next to me, eventually ends up saying he went to high school and was friends with Zimmerman. I told him to text him to sign with MKE. He does it. Zimmerman responds soon after with just "Yeah it doesn't quite work that way." Zimmerman had pitched that day against...the Brewers.

[adambr2]

Low risk, decent option for that spot starter / bullpen long guy if he has a good camp. Nice story for the Wisconsin guy getting a chance to play in his home state.

 

He had better have a really, really great camp to be a decent option for anything at the MLB level because he was really, really bad in his last full season. Hope he can do it of course.

[djoctagone]

zimmermann appears to have two minor league options remaining, but has enough service time to refuse any optional assignment.

 

because he finished the 2020 season on a major league roster, he is required to have an opt-out clause before opening day, or receive a retention bonus if the club wishes to keep him in the organization.

 

the brewers have 19 non-roster invitees to spring camp.

[pacopete4]

Neat!! Hope we get something out of it.

[JosephC]

His contract with the Tigers just might be the worst contract in MLB history. 110 million dollars and in five seasons Zimmermann totaled a 1.1 bWAR and a 5.2 fWAR.

 

As a side note, this is another good example why I prefer bWAR over fWAR when it comes to pitchers. As a Tiger, Zimmermann had 514 1/3 innings pitched with a 5.63 ERA, 4.83 FIP, 1.44 WHIP and in 4 of those 5 seasons his xFIP was even worse than his FIP. Opposing hitters slashed .297/.338/.510/.848 against him. How in the world do these numbers add up to a full five wins over replacement stretched over 4 seasons (season #5 consisted of only 5 2/3 innings pitched)? If the Brewer use Lauer as the #5 starter and at the end of June he has a 5.63 ERA, 4.83 FIP, an even worse xFIP and hitters are slashing .267/.338/.510/.848 against him, I would fully expect him to be replaced in July.

 

I've always rooted for Zimmermann as a home state guy and loved that he did so well with Washington. But there is nothing on the resume that makes me think he can be an effective MLB pitcher anymore. Would absolutely love to be wrong with this opinion.

[jerichoholicninja]

Amazing how quickly this guy cratered. I don't remember for sure but I don't think there were injuries involved either.

[monty57]

Low risk, decent option for that spot starter / bullpen long guy if he has a good camp. Nice story for the Wisconsin guy getting a chance to play in his home state.

 

He had better have a really, really great camp to be a decent option for anything at the MLB level because he was really, really bad in his last full season. Hope he can do it of course.

 

Agree. He could be a decent guy to send to AAA if he'd go. Veteran guy who could help coach the kids, and maybe he can come up in September and pitch a couple of bullpen innings in front of his "hometown crowd" before riding off into the sunset.

[Madhawk23]

I think I would have preferred that we bring back a guy like Shelby Miller instead of taking a flyer on Jordan Zimmerman. At least Shelby is younger and we'd already invested a lot of time into trying to get him "right" again. I'm going to be really ticked off if Shelby turns into his old self now with the Cubs after we did all of that work with him the past couple of years to fix his pitching mechanics.

[SRB]

I think this is a fantastic move. His peripherals were not actually that bad in Detroit. Some ugly ERAs and his strikeouts disappeared but he never had a season below 1.0 fWAR. Maybe he just needs to get out of the AL?

[FVBrewerFan]

Zimmermann said he feels great, best shape of his life, and is looking forward to his best season ever.

[Simba2020]

Seemed almost inevitable. Highly doubt it will come to anything but here's to hoping.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Seemed almost inevitable. Highly doubt it will come to anything but here's to hoping.

 

Chances are slim, but this is the same team that managed to turn Wade Miley into a solid starting pitcher after four years of terrible results, so it's certainly not impossible.

[Roderick]

Zimmermann said he feels great, best shape of his life, and is looking forward to his best season ever.

 

Has there ever been a player in creation that didn't say he was in the best shape of his life at whatever point in the offseason?

 

I made some money on my side bet with an Auburndale native. He bet that Zimmerman would be a Brewer, I could see that the match between when he was good and available and when the Brewers would be good would not match up. Bet had an end date a number of years back. So I just reminded him of the bet today - a day late and a dollar short.

[SRB]

Seemed almost inevitable. Highly doubt it will come to anything but here's to hoping.

 

Chances are slim, but this is the same team that managed to turn Wade Miley into a solid starting pitcher after four years of terrible results, so it's certainly not impossible.

 

And Drew Pomeranz into an elite reliever.

 

(It's the beer and sausages.)

[SeaBass]

Zimmermann said he feels great, best shape of his life, and is looking forward to his best season ever.

 

Has there ever been a player in creation that didn't say he was in the best shape of his life at whatever point in the offseason?

Bartolo Colon maybe? Do I win anything if I'm right?

[Jopal78]

Amazing how quickly this guy cratered. I don't remember for sure but I don't think there were injuries involved either.

 

He was plagued with injuries in Detroit: on the DL with neck and groin strains, took a batted ball off the face, sprained his UCL, had off seasons core muscle surgery, sprained his right shoulder strain, and then he missed a big chunk of 2019 and almost all of 2020 with a right forearm injury. If he is healthy, there might still be something there. The launch angle against him in 2019 with Detroit (12.6) is exactly the same as it was the last year with the Nationals when he got Cy Young votes and made the all-star team. Like wise, the percentage of line drives hit off him was the same in 2019 (24.5%) as it was in 2015 (24.3%). He was a good command pitcher that didn't ever throw in the upper 90s. If he has his command and his healthy, he might be able to compete for a back end of the rotation spot as an innings eater.

[umphrey]

I have been wondering if some of the older or frequently injured pitchers have some upside after essentially an entire year of rest in 2020

[Roderick]

Zimmermann said he feels great, best shape of his life, and is looking forward to his best season ever.

 

Has there ever been a player in creation that didn't say he was in the best shape of his life at whatever point in the offseason?

Bartolo Colon maybe? Do I win anything if I'm right?

 

You win a pie that you have to split with Bartolo.

[SRB]

Bartolo's actually not a bad comparator for a guy who fell completely of the map for 4+ years with injuries, and then returned to being an above-average SP.

[trwi7]

I think he's pretty clearly done but whatever. Throw a minor league contract at the home state guy and maybe he makes the team for a month as the mop up guy or something.