UPDATE, 12:55 p.m. ET: Zimmerman agreed to a six-year, $100 million extension to stay with the Nationals until 2019. There is a full no-trade clause and a club option for $24 million.
UPDATE, 8:52 a.m.: Zimmerman and the Nationals have agreed to a multiyear extension before Sunday morning's workout. Contract terms were not yet available, but the final stumbling blocks to a deal were believe to be a no-trade clause Zimmerman insisted upon.
The deal is expected to keep Zimmerman in Washington for the long term, yet at a price that will enable the Nationals to continue procuring high-level talent while retaining a suddenly burgeoning young core, headed by pitcher Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Bryce Harper.
EARLIER: VIERA, Fla. -- Already past a deadline imposed by Ryan Zimmerman for a contract extension, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he plans to continue negotiations to sign his Gold Glove third baseman.
"If we can't come to an agreement by the end of today (Saturday) or whatever the deadline is, I'm certainly going to continue to discuss the contract, because I want to sign Ryan Zimmerman," Rizzo said.
Zimmerman, who still has two years remaining on his current five-year, $45 million deal, had come to camp saying he wanted the deal done before 10 a.m. Saturday, when he took the field for the Nationals first full-squad workout, and that he did not wish to talk contract after that point.
That didn't happen, but Rizzo's negotiations with agent Brodie Van Wagenen went on. Zimmerman seemed amenable to permitting negotiations to continue, but only through Saturday.
"We've gone back and we've given them one other creative solution to bridge this gap," Zimmerman told reporters after coming off the field in Viera, Fla. "Today is the day, Saturday. It's either going to get done or it's not going to get done. … We'll have closure either way."
Zimmerman, a UVA product out of Virginia Beach, has made it clear he'd like to remain in Washington. A no-trade provision is believed to have been a major stumbling block.
"We've come a long way and bridged a big gap from the beginning of this to where we are currently," Rizzo said. "This is a very complicated, lucrative contract that we're discussing. I'm still hopeful we can come to an agreement but we're not there yet."
Rizzo is sympathetic to Zimmerman's desire not to let negotiations linger.
"Players want to put that stuff on the back burner," Rizzo said. "He's a ballplayer. It's not his job to worry about this stuff. It's my job and his agent's job to negotiate the contract. We need Ryan Zimmerman to be concentrating 100% on baseball. That's what he does best."
Zimmerman says he "feels great" after a 2011 season in which he missed considerable time due to an abdominal injury. He batted .289 with 12 homers and 49 RBI in 101 games and believes he's entering the prime of his career.
"I feel like I'm there this year," he said. "It takes a couple of years, not only to learn yourself but to learn the rest of the league –- learn what other teams think of you (and) if they're going to let you beat them late in the game or walk you.
"You continually have to get better. As far as preparing myself mentally, knowing what to do each day, I feel like I'm there now. … Now's the time to stay healthy, put up numbers and help us win."
His most productive season was 2009 when he hit 33 homers, drove in 106 runs and won the NL Gold Glove Award. He batted .307 with 25 homers and 85 RBI in 2010.
The deal is expected to keep Zimmerman in Washington for the long term, yet at a price that will enable the Nationals to continue procuring high-level talent while retaining a suddenly burgeoning young core, headed by pitcher Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Bryce Harper.
EARLIER: VIERA, Fla. -- Already past a deadline imposed by Ryan Zimmerman for a contract extension, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he plans to continue negotiations to sign his Gold Glove third baseman.
"If we can't come to an agreement by the end of today (Saturday) or whatever the deadline is, I'm certainly going to continue to discuss the contract, because I want to sign Ryan Zimmerman," Rizzo said.
Zimmerman, who still has two years remaining on his current five-year, $45 million deal, had come to camp saying he wanted the deal done before 10 a.m. Saturday, when he took the field for the Nationals first full-squad workout, and that he did not wish to talk contract after that point.
That didn't happen, but Rizzo's negotiations with agent Brodie Van Wagenen went on. Zimmerman seemed amenable to permitting negotiations to continue, but only through Saturday.
"We've gone back and we've given them one other creative solution to bridge this gap," Zimmerman told reporters after coming off the field in Viera, Fla. "Today is the day, Saturday. It's either going to get done or it's not going to get done. … We'll have closure either way."
Zimmerman, a UVA product out of Virginia Beach, has made it clear he'd like to remain in Washington. A no-trade provision is believed to have been a major stumbling block.
"We've come a long way and bridged a big gap from the beginning of this to where we are currently," Rizzo said. "This is a very complicated, lucrative contract that we're discussing. I'm still hopeful we can come to an agreement but we're not there yet."
Rizzo is sympathetic to Zimmerman's desire not to let negotiations linger.
"Players want to put that stuff on the back burner," Rizzo said. "He's a ballplayer. It's not his job to worry about this stuff. It's my job and his agent's job to negotiate the contract. We need Ryan Zimmerman to be concentrating 100% on baseball. That's what he does best."
Zimmerman says he "feels great" after a 2011 season in which he missed considerable time due to an abdominal injury. He batted .289 with 12 homers and 49 RBI in 101 games and believes he's entering the prime of his career.
"I feel like I'm there this year," he said. "It takes a couple of years, not only to learn yourself but to learn the rest of the league –- learn what other teams think of you (and) if they're going to let you beat them late in the game or walk you.
"You continually have to get better. As far as preparing myself mentally, knowing what to do each day, I feel like I'm there now. … Now's the time to stay healthy, put up numbers and help us win."
His most productive season was 2009 when he hit 33 homers, drove in 106 runs and won the NL Gold Glove Award. He batted .307 with 25 homers and 85 RBI in 2010.
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