Chicago Cubs Rumors: Breaking down possible pitching options

Jun 8, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Washington Nationals starter

(27) delivers a pitch against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Zimmermann – Washington Nationals

In the final year of a two-year, $24 million deal, the Washington right-hander has pitched to a 3.04 ERA and 3.01 FIP in his 17 starts. While most of the attention in D.C. has been focused on ace Max Scherzer, Zimmermann has quietly been putting together another solid season.

In each of the past three seasons, he has notched at least 190 innings – and is easily on-pace to hit that mark again in 2015. That alone is reason enough for Chicago to make a run at the righty, given their lack of inning-eating arms.

Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel have done their parts this season, averaging a cumulative 6 1/3 innings per start – but from there, the rotation has been a hodgepodge of arms, including Travis Wood, Donn Roach and Tsuyoshi Wada – to name a few.

At just 29 years old, Zimmermann would slot in nicely between Lester and Arrieta at the top of the Chicago Cubs rotation. You could give him five – or even six – years on a deal with some level of certainty moving forward, thus solidifying the starting rotation while the team’s young studs remain under team control.

Next: David Price