Detroit Tigers: Jordan Zimmermann not yet a lost cause

The first two years of Jordan Zimmermann’s contract have not gone well for the Detroit Tigers. However, there is still time for Zimmermann to right the ship.

Roughly a month after the conclusion of the 2015 MLB season, the Detroit Tigers signed Jordan Zimmermann to a reported five-year, $110 million deal. At the time, Zimmermann was part of a terrific class of free agent starting pitchers that also included Johnny Cueto, Zack Greinke and David Price.

For the first month of the 2016 season, Zimmermann pitched excellently for the Tigers, posting an 0.55 ERA over five starts. He struggled the rest of the way, however. He battled groin and neck injuries for much of the year and ended his season with a 9-7 record, a 4.87 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP through 19 games (18 starts).

An even worse 2017

In 2017, the results were even worse for Zimmermann. Through 29 games, the right-hander struggled to the tune of an 8-13 record, a 6.08 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. There were, however, at least a couple of bright spots and encouraging signs for Zimmermann last year. He had a very respectable month of June, for example, posting a 3.82 ERA through five starts. In early August, he pitched seven shutout innings against a very good New York Yankees club.

Despite his struggles over the past two seasons, Zimmermann has still turned in above-replacement-level work. Over the past two years, he has been worth 2.4 fWAR. He has only been worth 0.6 bWAR over the same time period, however.

Another factor worth pointing out in Zimmermann’s decline is his drop in velocity. During his career with the Washington Nationals, Zimmermann’s average four-seam fastball clocked in at 94.21 MPH, according to Brooks Baseball. With the Tigers, his average four-seamer has sat at 92.67 MPH. His four-seamer’s velocity did rise a bit last season, however, going to 92.73 MPH from the 92.59 he registered in 2016.

Going into the 2018 season, it could be interesting to see the type of impact that newly-hired pitching coach Chris Bosio might have on Zimmermann. According to Will Burchfield of CBS Detroit, shortly after Bosio was hired by the Tigers, he expressed an eagerness to work with Zimmermann during a conference call with Detroit media:

"““Am I excited to work with Jordan? Yes I am. I understand he’s had some health issues, but getting to know the individual is tremendous.”"

Bosio also pointed out similarities between Zimmermann and Jake Arrieta. As Burchfield also points out, Bosio oversaw Arrieta’s rise from Baltimore Orioles castoff in 2013 to NL Cy Young award winner with the Chicago Cubs in 2015. Admittedly, Zimmermann may not be a Cy Young contender next year, but he should certainly be able to pitch better than he has over the past two seasons.

Can Zimmermann be the No. 2 starter for the Detroit Tigers?

Right now, the Tigers have a legitimate ace in Michael Fulmer, assuming he returns healthy from elbow surgery. There isn’t a clear candidate to take the role of the No. 2 starter, however.

Lefties Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd have potential, but they struggled throughout much of the 2017 season. While Mike Fiers has been a solid starter in the past, he is coming off of a couple of down years with the Houston Astros.

Next: The Phillies’ Immediate Future

If Zimmermann can get back to being anywhere close to the pitcher he was with the Nationals (3.32 ERA over seven seasons), he might well be the best candidate to slot into the No. 2 spot of the rotation for the Detroit Tigers. If Zimmermann can indeed bounce back, perhaps it is also possible that he could even become tradeable at this summer’s deadline or next offseason.