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Report: Tigers in 'serious' talks with Jordan Zimmermann

Evan Habeeb / USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila listed pitching as a main priority this offseason, and it appears he's honed in on his target.

The Tigers are reportedly in discussions with right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, with multiple people saying talks have become serious.

Zimmermann is one of the top free-agent starters on the market, and is expected to come as a cheaper alternative to David Price, Zack Greinke, and Johnny Cueto.

The 29-year-old is coming off a season in which he went 13-10 with a 3.66 ERA, and 164 strikeouts over 201 2/3 innings. He's thrown at least 196 innings in each of his past four seasons, going 58-32 with a 3.13 ERA over 129 starts.

2016 POTENTIAL ROTATION

Pticher W-L ERA IP SO
Zimmermann 13-10 3.66 201.2 164
Verlander 5-8 3.38 133.1 113
Sanchez 10-10 4.99 157 138
Norris 3-2 3.75 60 45
Boyd 1-6 7.53 57.1 43

With the goal of reaching the postseason still alive in Detroit, the Tigers need to address a rotation that is headlined by Justin Verlander, and Anibal Sanchez - both successful veteran pitchers who are coming off sub-par seasons - while the young trio of Daniel Norris, Buck Farmer, and Matt Boyd own a combined 165 career innings.

Avila has already improved one of the league's worst bullpens from a season ago, having acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez from the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this month.

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