There have been conflicting reports about the Chicago Cubs' alleged pursuit of Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann. Whatever the case, it's certainly believable because the Cubs are in need of starting pitching and the Nationals are looking for a middle infielder.
Chicago has been pursuing Cole Hamels since the middle of the season, but a report on Monday from CSN Philly's Jim Salibury may have laid any pursuit of the left-hander to rest. Although a rival executive said "everyone is for sale" on the Phillies, the source also noted that the two players the team is least likely to surrender are Hamels and reliever Ken Giles. If Hamels were to go, Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro wants three top prospects, which many view as a lopsided deal.
Now, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, multiple sources said Tuesday the Cubs are in discussions with the Washington Nationals to work out a trade for Zimmermann. The two sides went as far as mentioning potential names that would be involved in a trade and it is believed the Cubs will have to surrender one of their young middle infielders, whether that be shortstop Starlin Castro, second baseman/shortstop Javier Baez, shortstop prospect Addison Russell or shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres.
The Cubs may view this as a good personnel decision since they have a surplus of middle infielders and a dearth of talent in the starting rotation. Zimmermann has been exceptional since 2011, posting a 53-33 record with a 3.00 ERA in 92 starts. His last two seasons were his best, during which he added a career-highs in wins (19) in 2013, ERA (2.66) in 2014, WHIP (1.07) in 2014 and strikeouts (182) in 2014. If acquiring Zimmermann is a realistic possibility, the team would likely pull the plug on pursuing Hamels and probably look to add left-hander Jon Lester in free agency, who has previous ties with team president Theo Epstein.
Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields are the top starting pitchers available in free agency, but they're expected to cost a lot of money. Acquiring two of them will be overwhelming, especially since the Tigers are doing all they can to retain Scherzer and Shields' price tag may not be worth his annual salary. Additionally, Hamels has a guaranteed four years and $90 million remaining on his contract, whereas Zimmermann is under a $16.5 million salary for 2015 before he enters free agency in 2016. Zimmermann is only 28, while the rest of the previously mentioned pitchers are at least 30, so a long-term deal for him is much more attractive.
However, one hour after the Sun-Times reported the discussions between the Cubs and Nationals, the Chicago Tribune cited a Cubs source that said, "We've had no discussions, and he's not available." Much speculation arises from the General Managers' Meetings, but this is certainly realistic.
