Detroit Tigers: Jordan Zimmermann having best season yet in Detroit?

Now in his third season in Detroit, Tigers starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann is beginning to pitch a bit better.

After the 2015 season, the Detroit Tigers signed Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year deal. Aside from a great month of April in 2016, the first two years of the deal didn’t go very well.

Zimmermann, who also battled injuries early on in his tenure with the Tigers, posted 17-20 record with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP over his first two seasons in Detroit. Still, manager Ron Gardenhire still showed a lot of faith in him early on this year, naming him the opening day starter.

Although Zimmermann battled health problems once again in 2018, spending time on the DL with a “shoulder impingement injury,” he has been pitching much better this year. Prior to going on the DL, Zimmermann had a rather inflated ERA of 4.88, but he had put together two excellent starts in a row, stringing together a total of 12 scoreless innings.

Since coming off of the DL, Zimmermann has posted a 2.12 ERA over three starts. On the season, he is now 3-0 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. His Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is even lower than his ERA at 3.21.

Zimmermann has also seen an increase in his strikeout rate this season. After posting a K/9 of just 5.73 between 2016-17, Zimmermann has a K/9 of 8.38 through 48.1 innings this season.

When Zimmermann was at his best with the Washington Nationals in 2014, a season in which he posted a 5.3 fWAR and finished fifth in the National League Cy Young award voting, he had a K/9 of 8.20. Of course, that isn’t to say that he is now completely back to being the pitcher he was, but it is certainly worth noting.

Could Zim be a trade chip?

With the Tigers falling further behind in the playoff race, many are beginning to suspect that the Tigers could once again be sellers at the non-waver trade deadline at the end of the month. There has been speculation around Tigers starters such as Michael Fulmer, Matthew Boyd and Francisco Liriano. There hasn’t been much talk about Zimmermann, however.

Obviously, considering the struggles he has had in his time with the Tigers along with the fact that he is owed $50 million over the next two seasons, Zimmermann will still probably be tough to move.

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That said, if can continue pitching the way he has recently, Zimmermann might be able to emerge as a viable trade chip at some point down the road. If he’s not traded, perhaps he could end up being a big help for the Tigers in 2019 or 2020.