The Washington Nationals and Jordan Zimmermann announced that they agreed on a 2-year/$24M deal this morning, after negotiations on a long-term deal fell apart. According to reports after the new deal for the Nats' '07 2nd Round pick was announced, the idea of a two-year deal, which buys out his final two years of arbitration eligibility, came up last week when the two sides found themselves far apart in their discussions about a longer contract.
The two-year deal, Zimmermann told the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, "'...is just a small little deal that takes us away from the arbitration. Now I can focus on baseball and not have to worry about the other stuff.'" Zimmermann went on to say that the two-year deal agreed upon today won't stop negotiations of a long-term deal that could keep the Auburndale, Wisconsin-born starter in the nation's capital:
"'If a year down the road or after this season if there’s a long-term deal that works out for both sides, we’d be happy and willing to do it...'"
Ian Desmond, 28, is the other National who has reportedly been discussing a long-term deal with the Nats over the last two winters.
Apparently, according to a report this morning by nationals.com writer Bill Ladson, Desmond too has agreed on a two-year deal:
#Nats SS ian Desmond signed a two -year, 17.5 million deal. #Nationals #Nats #MLB
— William Ladson (@washingnats) January 17, 2014
Desmond, a Montreal Expos' '04 3rd Round pick, put up a .280/.331/.453 line in his fifth major league season in 2013, hitting 38 doubles and 20 HRs in 158 games and 655 plate appearances and finishing at +5.0 fWAR for the second straight season.
The #Nats have agreed to terms with SS Ian Desmond on a two-year contract, avoiding arbitration.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) January 17, 2014