Jordan ZImmermann
If you're like most Tigers fans, you've already written off Jordan ZImmermann, the pitching ace who came from the Nationals in 2016 and signed a five-year, $110-million deal. We thought it was our way of getting compensated for giving away future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to the Nationals.
But Zimmermann, 31, has been plagued with injuries and has been pretty lame. The right-hander was 8-13 with a 6.08 ERA in his second Detroit season.
"Last season, he ranked as one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball," Anthony Fenech of the Free Press writes Sunday.
So it's understandable that some reporters thought Tigers Manager Ron Gardenhire was joking when he said Zimmermann, not ace Michael Fulmer, would start March 29 on opening day at Comerica Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Detroit News reporter Chris McCosky writes:
You kept waiting for the punch line. You kept waiting for manager Ron Gardenhire’s face to crack into that impish grin of his. But it never happened.
“I am not kidding you,” he said. “I’m being serious.”
Gardenhire announced his Opening Day starter Saturday following the Tigers’ 9-3 exhibition win over the Yankees.
“Jordan Zimmermann is going to start on Opening Day,” he said.
A Free Press headline calls it a "bold move," one that sportswriter Fenech says is "the right decision."
What began last September continued this off-season and was evident in Tiger Town since pitchers and catchers reported early last month: Zimmermann is the leader of the pitching staff.
