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Washington Nationals' starters throw first bullpen sessions; Jordan Zimmermann open to extension talk

Washington Nationals' pitchers and catchers are in Viera, Florida and today they threw their first bullpen sessions of the Spring as part of the first official workouts of the year. Want to see Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer throwing bullpen sessions?

By Patrick Reddington
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

What better way to spend another snowy day in the northeast than watching Washington Nationals' pitchers throw their first bullpen sessions of the season in 6-to-20-second videos?

It's that time of year.

Nats' pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training earlier this week and today as part of the first official workouts of the season, they threw bullpen sessions in front of coaches and reporters in Viera, Florida. Through the magic of the Internet, Twitter, Vine and Instagram, you can watch those videos and get a glimpse of the first pitches of the year being thrown.

Lefties Sammy Solis and Matt Grace are in major league camp:

Bullpen mates (?) Tanner Roark and Drew Storen:

We had a hard time identifying these two, since the Nationals didn't note the names in the tweet, but we're working on IDs:

Here's another view of those Nationals' starters via MASN's Chris Johnson:

Zimmermann still willing to talk contract extension:

Jordan Zimmermann also talked to reporters this afternoon, explaining that he remained open to talks about a long-term deal that would keep the 28-year-old right-hander in the nation's capital beyond the 2015 campaign.

Zimmermann and the Nationals agreed on a 2-year/$24M last winter after failing to agree on a longer deal.

When he spoke to reporters at NatsFest in December, the Nats' 2007 2nd Round pick reiterated what he's said all along about his willingness to sign what he considers a "fair" deal.

"If it's a fair value, like I have said all along, I would gladly sign," Zimmermann said. "But at the end of the day, it's gotta be something that's fair and if it's not, then I'll be moving on."

As of now, the Nationals and Zimmermann haven't been able to agree on a deal, but he said today that there's still time to work something out.

"He isn’t sure if the Nationals will approach him again during spring training," Washington Post reporter James Wagner wrote today, but he did say, "'... if they want to bring something up, we’re here to listen.'"

While he said he was willing to discuss a deal this Spring, Zimmermann did say that once the season starts he would prefer to focus on baseball:

"'So if something happens in spring here, we’re willing to listen,' he said. 'But once the season starts, I don’t really want to talk about it.'"

Will the Nationals give another pitcher a long-term, big money contract this winter after signing Max Scherzer to a 7-year/$210M deal last month?

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