Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals Reach Deadline; No Extension

It’s seemed as if a contract extension between the Washington Nationals and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman could be announced at any moment for the past several days.  Both sides clearly want to get something done, and Zimmerman has even said he’d give the Nationals a team-friendly deal.  Now, with Saturday morning’s deadline having passed, what’s the prospect of an extension still getting done?

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made it clear from the announcement of today’s deadline that it wouldn’t stop him from continuing negotiations with Zimmerman’s agent.  This morning when asked if there was anything new to report concerning Zimmerman’s extension, Rizzo simply replied “no”.

Zimmerman himself had a few lines to offer regarding his pending contract.  The 27-year-old made it clear that “the ball has been in the Nationals court for some time”.  Zimmerman told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that, at this point, he’s waiting just like the rest of the world.

While these developments wouldn’t seem to suggest that an agreement is on the horizon, Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com tweeted this morning that Zimmerman’s deadline was only a ‘soft’ one and shouldn’t prohibit a deal from getting done in the “near future”.  Zuckerman added that, three years ago, Zimmerman’s current contract was announced three weeks after his self-imposed deadline.

Regardless of the when, it does appear that this thing will get done.  Rizzo’s comments don’t give me the feeling that this is something that will be announced this weekend or even next week.  Still, with the mutual interest involved and Zimmerman’s willingness to offer the Nationals a hometown discount, it’s hard to believe negotiations will carry on into the offseason.

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