/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47762151/usa-today-7871091.0.jpg)
According to multiple reports, the Tigers came to terms with free agent right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann on Sunday. Zimmermann spent the first seven years of his major-league career pitching for the Washington Nationals, posting a 3.32 ERA and a 3.40 FIP in over 1,000 career innings.
Zimmermann is the first big-name free agent to sign with a team, and his contract is being reported as $110 million over five years, a figure that most pundits are finding favorable to the Tigers. Fangraphs' crowd-sourced estimates -- which have historically been lower than actual contracts by about 10 percent -- pegged Zimmermann for a six-year, $126 million contract.
The 6'2" righty is coming off of a string of four seasons in which he averaged 203 innings pitched and a 3.13 ERA. His 5.3 fWAR season in 2014 was good enough to rank fifth in National League Cy Young Award voting, and he also placed seventh in the vote in 2013.
Zimmermann will join a Tigers' rotation headlined by Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez, as GM Al Avila looks to add one more starter to slot into the back end with youngster Daniel Norris. Zimmermann's $22 million average salary will leave the Tigers with approximately $12 million of wiggle room until they reach the luxury tax threshold.