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Source: Ryan Zimmerman agrees to 1-year deal with Nationals

MLB, Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman have agreed to terms on a $2 million contract for 2020 that includes the possibility of earning $3 million more in incentives, a source confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan on Friday. 

The agreement was first reported by The Washington Post.

When Zimmerman, 35, became a free agent, he figured he either would be back with the Nationals -- or out of baseball.

"I think I've made my intentions pretty clear," Zimmerman said in December. "It's either play some more here or play more golf."

He was the first player drafted by the Nationals in 2005 after the club moved from Montreal to Washington, and he has played in every one of their 15 seasons. He holds franchise career records for hits, doubles, total bases, homers and RBI.

Zimmerman was around for the consecutive 100-loss seasons in 2008 and 2009, the frequent trips to -- and early exits from -- the playoffs from 2012 to 2017, and, of course, the World Series championship last year.

Injuries limited him to 52 games and a .257 average with six homers and 27 RBIs in 2019, although he was a key contributor in the postseason. He is expected to share time at first base in 2020 with newcomer Eric Thames and holdover Howie Kendrick.

"He's the classiest big leaguer I've ever been around. He's the culmination of a lot of hard work. The guy's been through some trials and tribulations. We all forget about the first six, seven years, when he played 160 games every year. I saw needles in his shoulder. I saw him play when he probably shouldn't have played earlier in his career," general manager Mike Rizzo said late last season. "That's the kind of man he is and the kind of player he is. You see when he's a healthy player, he's a pretty damn good one still."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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