Tigers expect Zimmermann to find old form on new team
Sometimes it’s not about the numbers. And sometimes it is about the numbers but teams think they will be the ones to change them.
Both of these things are true with Jordan Zimmermann, the right-hander signed in December to fortify the top of the Detroit Tigers’ rotation. The ex-Washington National arrives with a stellar career résumé but also a worrisome season from a year ago.
In other words, Zimmermann looks a bit like the Tigers’ other top two starters, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez, pitchers with terrific years on the books but questions about their futures.
For the Tigers to get back into the playoff chase, all three will need to be close to a version of their best selves. This is easiest to see with Verlander, who showed 97-mph gas late last season and threw like an ace once he settled in after a triceps injury.
It’s a little tougher to see with Sanchez, who also has dealt with injuries and struggled to keep the ball in the park last season, allowing a career-high 29 home runs. According to FanGraphs, the rise in homers wasn’t directly related to a decline in velocity. He struggled with his slider early in the season, but overall he simply wasn’t as sharp.
With Zimmermann, however, the change in his stuff last season was clearer, according to FanGraphs. He didn’t throw quite as hard. He used his fastball less. He threw it higher in the zone.
On the other hand, he in- creased the velocity on his slider — a pitch he used more — and improved his curveball. The changes led to the highest fullseason ERA of his career.
Detroit is betting 2015 was an anomaly, that its staff can help Zimmermann fine-tune his approach and return to the pitcher he was from 2012 to 2014, a threeyear stretch in which he made two All-Star teams and posted ERAs of 2.94, 3.25 and 2.66.
All three of these seasons came after Zimmermann had surgery to repair a ligament in the elbow. Nothing suggests last season’s dip was linked to that.
He will be 30 in May, however, so he’s reaching an age when most pitchers lose a bit of velocity and begin to reconsider how they get outs. Again, the Tigers have experience in this area, even though they brought in a new pitching coach, Rich Dubee. The former Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach worked with several topline starters who worked through late-career transitions.
Signing a player such as Zimmermann means an organization thinks new scenery and new coaching relationships will make a difference. Many teams didn’t see Zimmermann as an elite No. 1 starter, which is why when other teams contacted him this offseason they told him they were also waiting to see where other top pitchers landed first.
“The Tigers made me their No. 1 priority,” Zimmermann said last week. “That felt good.”
That is why he chose to come to Detroit. Even that, sometimes, can make a difference.
Zimmermann said he felt great and expected to pitch as he always had. Not only did his own numbers slide a little last year but so did the performance of his team.
“Everyone said we had the best team in baseball, and we came out and laid an egg,” he said.
He learned how expectations can sometimes overwhelm a team. He knows there are similar expectations in Detroit.
“Obviously, everything looks good on paper, but you still have to go out and perform,” he said.
Zimmermann was brought to Detroit to be a No. 2 starter behind Verlander and in front of Sanchez. He knows he must find his way past a rough season to help his new one return to the postseason.
Sometimes, a change in address will do this. Adjusting to your changing stuff will do it, too.
He doesn’t need to be an ace, just a facsimile of the near-ace he was in Washington. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus thinks he will be and this staff and Detroit will be a good fit.
“I think he’s kind of going to be a no-nonsense, no-frills bulldog,” Ausmus said. “(He) doesn’t need the spotlight, doesn’t mind the spotlight. And I’ve heard great things about him in the clubhouse. Just a solid teammate.”
Windsor writes for the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.