Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jordan Zimmermann announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Tuesday. He had been on Milwaukee's active roster since late April, and he had most recently appeared for the club on Friday.
Zimmermann, who will celebrate his 35th birthday in late May, ends his career having appeared in 279 big-league games. He started in all but four of those contests, mostly with the Washington Nationals, who selected him in the second round of the 2007 draft. In 1,614 career innings, he accumulated a 4.07 ERA (101 ERA+) and a 3.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He notched 20.3 Wins Above Replacement during his 13-year career, according to Baseball Reference's calculations.
Zimmermann made the All-Star Game and received Cy Young Award consideration in both 2013 and 2014. He capped that eventful 2014 season by throwing the first no-hitter in Nationals franchise history, stymying the Miami Marlins on the regular season's final day.
Unfortunately for Zimmermann, he was unable to find similar success after signing a five-year pact with the Detroit Tigers after the 2015 season. Whereas his Nationals career was memorable because of his reliability and above-average quality, his Tigers career was marred by injury and ineffectiveness. He averaged fewer than 20 appearances per season in Detroit, and he finished with an ERA+ north of 90 just once -- that coming in 2018.
Zimmermann's career did end in fitting fashion. A Wisconsin native, he signed a non-roster deal with the Brewers over the winter. After spending most of April at the alternate site, he was brought to the majors in late April. He made two appearances for the Brewers in May, including a relief outing on Friday that saw him toss two scoreless innings against the Marlins.
