Brewers sign Jordan Zimmermann

[JohnBriggs12]

it should be noted that because zimmermann is a player with at least six years of service time who finished the 2020 season on a major league roster or major league injured list, his minor league contract requires an opt-out clause or a retention bonus if he isn't added to the major league roster before opening day.

 

Barring eye opening stuff in spring games, I suspect he'll end up the same way Gallardo did a couple years ago. He wasn't awful in Arizona, but just not being awful against minor leaguers in camp doesn't get him a roster spot on opening day.

[brewcrewdue80]

I think JZ is around for the veteran experiences to pass on through ST. I have no idea how he'd make the team. But hanging around the youth, being from WI, this may become like a future opening towards any coaching within the organization.

[CheezWizHed]

Out of curiosity, i started digging into Jordan's regression as it started immediately when he switched to Detroit.

- Washington 2011-2015: ERA was 2.66-3.66

- Detroit 2016-2019: ERA was 4.52-6.91 (he only pitched a few innings in 2020, so I excluded them for small sample size - they still were not good).

 

He was only 29 when going to Washington, so I didn't expect that big of a shift. The DH alone isn't enough, but maybe just being in Detroit was enough?

 

I did find two items of note:

- FB speed and %: He was consistently around 62-63% (one spike of 70%) in Washington while getting around 93MPH on his FB. In Detroit, he almost immediately dropped off to 45-54%, while his velocity dropped to 90-92 MPH.

- His CB % saw a bit of an uptick (+5-6%), but his CB speed came up 3 MPH also and tightens the gap with his slider (80MPH CB with 85MPH SL compared to 77CB/87SL in WAS).

 

He never had a huge FB, but his demise seems to be tied to the FB loss of velocity and value. So I wonder if

- He got a big payday and relaxed too much?

- He changed some mechanics/grip/philosophy in Detroit to make such a huge change in results? (Granted, his FB value started to dip his last year in WAS).

 

Who knows if the Brewer's clinic could help him or not (they didn't seem to do much for Shelby Miller), but no harm in kicking the tires and see what can be done.

[djoctagone]

craig counsell, on whether or not zimmermann would remain in the organization if not on the brewers opening day roster, "we have not discussed that".

[SomewhereInTime]

 

In the last ten years the Brewers have won 776 games and been to the post season 4 times. The Padres have won 686 games and been to the playoffs once.

Prospect laden teams like the Padres accumulate those players from a years of futility. The Brewers don’t have any of the games top prospects because they’ve been mostly competitive for the last decade and we’re picking it n the middle or towards the back of a draft where there are no sure things and very few outside the top five or ten picks.

 

As a fan, I don’t really want to invest my surplus time in a team that is obviously outmatched and playing for the future. For teams that are more reliant upon game day revenue than the major media markets it’s bad for business to have a team that isn’t competitive.

 

I think the Brewers have done an excellent job keeping their team competitive in their division. They’ve always moved to improve the roster during the season when on field performance has warranted it. As a fan who could realistically want more

 

to your first point, so what? I'm concerned with the here and now. The Brewers team that we will be fielding in 2021 is almost like a AAA team in comparison to LA and SD. I don't care that we have made the playoffs 4 times to SD 1. Let's see where that shakes out in the next 10 years... The deck is stacked against us, obviously, it just gets frustrating.

 

I am thankful that we have had success recently, but looking at the LA and SD teams, it is deflating to see what we are up against both financially and physically.

 

Staying competitive is great, and far better than not being competitive, but if we can't have real World Series aspirations, it takes some of the air out.

 

They were literally one game away from a pennant in 2018. There isn't some huge barrier between them and getting to a WS.

[JohnBriggs12]

craig counsell, on whether or not zimmermann would remain in the organization if not on the brewers opening day roster, "we have not discussed that".

 

He's in the same situation Gallardo was a few years ago when the Brewers brought him to spring training. He'd have to look very solid and there would have to be an injury to open up a spot. Otherwise it's an audition for the other 29 teams.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

craig counsell, on whether or not zimmermann would remain in the organization if not on the brewers opening day roster, "we have not discussed that".

This is code for "we have discussed him and he is not going to make the team."

Of course they discussed him but they don't want to trash him in the media.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

They were literally one game away from a pennant in 2018. There isn't some huge barrier between them and getting to a WS.

 

There's no point in engaging zero-sum fandom. They'll complain about anything short of a championship and say anything else is pointless. It's a bunch of nonsense (it's an entertainment product after all, and literally nothing changes for you if they win 10 titles or zero), setting oneself up for disappointment, and such people tend to be cantankerous in many aspects of life.

 

Eternal optimists can be as annoying for different reasons, but when people are complaining about a successful org and whining about its latest iteration before it's even on the field, it just gets nauseating to hear, over and over, and over again.

[Jopal78]

Who knows if the Brewer's clinic could help him or not (they didn't seem to do much for Shelby Miller), but no harm in kicking the tires and see what can be done.

 

Don’t look now, but Shelby Miller has been lights out for the Cubs this spring so far and should open with the big league team.

 

Kudos to the Brewers for taking no risk flyers on every pitcher who used to be a “name”. They might get lucky someday and find one who has something left in the tank. As for Zimmermann he looks spent, and probably will try to look for another major league job before hanging up the spikes.

[brewerfan82]

craig counsell, on whether or not zimmermann would remain in the organization if not on the brewers opening day roster, "we have not discussed that".

This is code for "we have discussed him and he is not going to make the team."

Of course they discussed him but they don't want to trash him in the media.

I think you're misinterpreting the quote. It's not asking if he'll make the team, it's asking if he'll still be in the organization if he doesn't make that team. "We have not discussed that" isn't the front office discussing it internally, it's the front office discussing with Zimmerman whether or not he'd still be interested in staying in the organization (ie. in the minors) if he doesn't make the major league roster. At this point they're probably not too concerned about that so they haven't discussed it with him yet.

 

That's my interpretation at least. If anything I think it means they're still considering him for a roster spot if they haven't discussed other options with him yet.

[djoctagone]

it should be noted that because zimmermann is a player with at least six years of service time who finished the 2020 season on a major league roster or major league injured list, his minor league contract requires an opt-out clause or a retention bonus if he isn't added to the major league roster before opening day.

craig counsell reports that the club needs to make a decision on zimmermann in "about four days", which would be around 25 march. that is two days earlier than brad boxberger's reported opt-out date.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm not sure how he sticks around. He looks completely spent. His FB lost velocity a couple years ago and it hasn't recovered.

[Hopper]

I think he's a goner.

Nothing lost.

We took a look, and there is nothing to see.

[djoctagone]

craig counsell reports that the club needs to make a decision on zimmermann in "about four days", which would be around 25 march. that is two days earlier than brad boxberger's reported opt-out date.

we shall see if there's an official announcement on zimmermann today.

[djoctagone]

zimmermann's opt-out date is saturday.

[PlayerHader]

From someone who would know, it sounds like he'll be released (right word?), but he's working on a deal with the team to be sent to Appleton for April.

[markedman5]

[markedman5]

Adam McCalvy

@AdamMcCalvy

·

2m

Brewers have released non-roster players Jordan Zimmermann and Brad Boxberger. They hope to re-sign them to Minor League deals, David Stearns says.

[djoctagone]

by releasing zimmermann now, the brewers get out of paying him a $100,000 retention bonus to keep him in the organization. zimmermann is now a free agent.

[djoctagone]

zimmermann has been re-signed to a minor league deal, presumably with at least one opt-out clause.

[djoctagone]

zimmermann has been re-signed to a minor league deal, presumably with at least one opt-out clause.

and the opt-out clause was today.

[djoctagone]

clearly, with an opt-out date just before the class aaa minor league season starts, zimmermann is telling the brewers that he has no desire to pitch for the nashville sounds on minor league assignment.

 

of course, he can change his mind, but it's pretty clear that it's brewers or retire. if he's designated for assignment, i'd be shocked to see an outright attempt to nashville. he'll be released.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

clearly, with an opt-out date just before the class aaa minor league season starts, zimmermann is telling the brewers that he has no desire to pitch for the nashville sounds on minor league assignment.

 

of course, he can change his mind, but it's pretty clear that it's brewers or retire. if he's designated for assignment, i'd be shocked to see an outright attempt to nashville. he'll be released.

 

Yep, and he'll be out fishing the next day. I live roughly a mile from his place in the Northwoods. When they say "cabin", it is underselling it. He lives in a $3 million, 5,000-square-foot home on a lake up here. Beautiful spot ... perfect quiet spot for an outdoorsy guy with a young family. I'm sure he decided to give it one more go to say that he pitched for his hometown team, but if he gets DFA'd, he'll likely be more than happy to hang it up.

[adambr2]

I'm happy for him that he got to pitch for the Brewers. I don't blame him at all for not wanting to go to Nashville. He's made enough money in his life to be more than comfortable. I'm sure he'll be DFAed soon and he'll understand and go back to fishing and that's fine all around.

 

I'm sure he would have liked a little better of an outcome for his Brewer career but he also helped eat up innings and save our bullpen in the middle of a brutal stretch. That's certainly not nothing.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

I mean, has he really been that bad? I'm on the radio, so what do I know, but he's given up 2 hits and 2 walks in nearly 4 innings so far. I know it's 11-0 when he comes in, and I know he's not going to be around long, but, especially while Lindblom is hurt, Zimmerman maybe is worth another look or two?

 

Edit: Okay, he can't get AJ Pollock out, that's for sure. Will stand by the point, though. I've seen worse in that Brewer pen.