Washington Nationals rumors: Ryan Zimmerman, ‘Mr. National,’ returning

Washington Nationals rumors report a Ryan Zimmerman reunion

The Washington Nationals rumors swirled Friday afternoon with a report that long-time Nat Ryan Zimmerman has agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract to return to the only organization he’s ever played with.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the story, with Barry Svrhuga of the Washington Post confirming the deal was pending a physical and that it is a major-league deal with incentives.

Zimmerman, 36, was the first player drafted by the Nationals in 2005 after the franchise moved to the U.S. capital after 36 seasons as the Montreal Expos. He was taken fourth overall in the MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Virginia and made his big-league debut in September of the same year.

An All-Star in 2009 and 2017, Zimmerman has bounced around the diamond for Washington. He came up as a third baseman, moved briefly to left field in 2014 and was their regular first baseman before injuries reduced his availability.

Since the franchise moved to Washington, Zimmerman is the career leader in just about every offensive category, including home runs (270), RBI (1,015), runs scored (936), hits (1,784) and doubles (401).

For the overall history of the franchise, Zimmerman is second behind Tim Raines in runs scored, but is otherwise the all-time leader for the organization in all the other categories listed.

Zimmerman opted out of the 2020 season after signing a one-year, $2 million deal with the Nationals last January.

The 15-year veteran had faced an uncertain future with the Nationals after the club righthander Wil Crowe and 19-year-old righthander Eddy Yean to the Pittsburgh Pirates for slugging first baseman Josh Bell.

Bell, 28, slumped to .226/.305/.364 in 57 games and 223 plate appearances for the Pirates last season, finishing with eight home runs and 22 RBI. In 2019, he was a first-time All-Star and blasted 37 home runs and 37 doubles with 116 RBI and 94 runs scored in 143 games and 613 plate appearances with a slash line of .277/.367/.569.

Zimmerman’s last full season was his 2017 All-Star campaign, during which he slashed .303/.358/.573 with 33 doubles and a career-high 36 home runs. In 2018, he was limited to 85 games after missing more than two months with an oblique injury and played in just 52 games in 2019 due to two lengthy injured-list stints due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

He did return for Washington’s run from the National League Wild-Card Game to the franchise’s first World Series title, playing in 16 games and hitting .255/.317/.418 in 60 plate appearances with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.

One of those home runs was a second-inning shot off Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the World Series that gave life to the Nationals after the Houston Astros had jumped on Nationals ace Max Scherzer for two runs in the bottom of the first. Washington went on to win the game 5-4, powered by a three-run fifth inning capped by Juan Soto’s two-run double.

Zimmerman finished a close second behind Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2006, won a Gold Glove at third base in 2009 and is a two-time Silver Slugger recipient.