Jordan Zimmermann Was Detroit Tigers' Most Important Offseason Addition

This offseason, the Detroit Tigers have been busy making moves and have brought in a number of new faces to shore up weaknesses from last season. Of all of the additions that the Tigers have made, signing starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million deal may very well prove to be the most important.

Sure, by his standards, Zimmermann may have had a bit of a down year in 2015, going 13-10 with a 3.66 ERA (110 ERA+) and a 1.20 WHIP for the Washington Nationals, but it was still a very solid season. It was also the fourth consecutive year in which he made at least 32 starts and threw 195.2 or more innings.

Last year, the Tigers’ starting rotation posted a 4.78 ERA, which ranked last in the American League and 27th in MLB, so it goes without saying that Zimmermann should clearly provide help. Detroit’s staff also faces uncertainties heading into the upcoming season as well.

Of course, 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP award winner Justin Verlander will also be at the top of the Tigers’ rotation after giving fans plenty of reason to believe in him once again last season, but it is the 3-5 spots that are a bit worrisome. Anibal Sanchez had a rough season last year and figures to be one of the team’s bigger question marks going into spring training, many were left unimpressed by the Mike Pelfrey signing and Daniel Norris only has 66.2 big league innings under his belt.

From adding under-the-radar type pieces like Cameron Maybin, Mike Aviles and Jarrod Saltalamacchia to bringing in Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson to fix the bullpen and then adding a big bat like Justin Upton, the Tigers have had a great winter and GM Al Avila deserves a ton of praise. However, adding Zimmermann to help fix a broken rotation should be viewed as the greatest achievement of the offseason.