9:12 AM UPDATE: More from ESPN.com's Mr. Olney on Twitter: "Some of you have asked; here's the answer: Zimmerman's 6-year deal, plus option, is on top of current contract. Team controls through 2020."
9:06 AM UPDATE: Both ESPN.com's Buster Olney and ESPN and XM's Jim Bowden are writing on Twitter this morning, as Mr. Olney did, that, "The new deal for Ryan Zimmerman is for six years, with a club option on a seventh year."
8:12 AM: After over a year of negotiations and several missed "deadlines" yesterday, former D.C. GM Jim Bowden wrote on Twitter (@JimBowdenESPNXM) early Sunday morning that, "Ryan Zimmerman and Washington Nationals are expected to have a press conference PRIOR to Sunday's workout to announce his contract extension." Early this morning, both Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore and MLB.com's Bill Ladson (@washingnats) have confirmed through sources that the Nats and their 27-year-old '05 1st Round pick have agreed to terms on a contract extension that will keep the third baseman in the nation's capital for a long time. The WaPost's Nats' beat writer (@AdamKilgoreWP) wrote on Twitter this morning that, "The Nats and Ryan Zimmerman have agreed to a contract extension, source says. A press conference expected to come after today's workout."
Details of the extension weren't immediately available. CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) wrote on Twitter earlier this week that he was, "Hearing it will come in around $18M per." The Nationals and their first 1st Round pick agreed on a 5-year/$45M dollar extension in 2009 that would have paid Zimmerman $12M dollars this season and $14M in 2013, but the speculation has been that the last two years of that deal will likely be folded into the extension which is rumored to be an eight-year deal. The last hurdle, according to reports this weekend was some sort of no-trade protection that the seven-year veteran felt he deserved because he was willing to accept a team-friendly deal coming off an injury-shortened season which saw him hit 21 doubles and 12 HR's in 101 games and 440 PA's over which the third baseman had a .289/.355/.443 line.
The right-handed hitting and throwing infielder drafted out of the University of Virginia with the fourth pick in the '05 Draft finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez in 2006. In 2009, Zimmerman made his first All-Star appearance and went on to win the NL Gold Glove and Silver Slugger that season. The 6'3'', 230lb infielder earned another Silver Slugger in 2010, but his '11 campaign was limited by an abdominal tear which eventually required surgery. After returning to the lineup in mid-June last summer, Zimmerman had a .283/.342/.436 line in 93 games and 403 PA's. In his first seven MLB seasons, Zimmerman's averaged a .289/.355/.443 line with a 162-game average of 41 doubles and 25 HR's.
More details when they're available...