Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo expressed confidence in Ryan Zimmerman this winter when he was asked what leads him to believe the 32-year-old first baseman is likely to bounce back after a down year at the plate in 2016.
“Zim’s our first baseman going into this offseason and Spring Training,” Rizzo said in early December, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.
Zimmerman finished the 2016 season, his 12th, with a .218/.272/.370 line, 18 doubles and 15 homers in 467 plate appearances, over which he was worth -1.3 fWAR.
“I like the bat speed.