Nationals hope to sign Zimmermann, Desmond, Fister to extensions
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo will have his hands full this winter as he tries to broker contract extensions with three of his club's core players.
Starting pitchers Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister plus third baseman Ian Desmond will all become free agents after the upcoming season, and Rizzo recently said that signing the trio to extensions will be a priority for the team, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
“We think it’s an important offseason,” Rizzo said. “We’ve got a lot of decisions to make. How we move forward is going to be important for the viability of the franchise, not only in ’15, but the long-term.”
Rizzo, however, may be subject to payroll constraints, and the club will consider trading any of the three if extensions prove unfruitful.
“That’s Mike’s biggest job this offseason,” one industry insider said of re-signing the trio. “It’s not figuring out who he can bring in. It’s figuring out who he can keep.”
Zimmermann, who's set to earn $16.5 million in 2015, earned his second successive All-Star berth this past season after crafting a career-best 2.66 ERA (141 ERA+) over 199 2/3 innings.
Desmond, a third-round draft pick in 2004, hit .255/.313/.430 (103 OPS+) in 154 games while reaching the 20-20 plateau for a third consecutive year.
Fister opened the campaign on the disabled list but still enjoyed a marvelous season, authoring a 2.41 ERA (155 ERA+) across 25 starts.