"Baseball's offseason has become very much about the Washington Nationals, about their mega-deal with Jayson Werth, their pursuit of Cliff Lee, their inquiring on most every significant free agent available, their desire to turn their franchise from a punch line into something that must be reckoned with.

At the moment, it is not about Ryan Zimmerman. As Stephen Strasburg overshadowed him in the summer, Werth has overshadowed him in the winter. In the near future, though, the ramifications of this offseason could resonate as much for Zimmerman as any other player.

Zimmerman again reiterated his desire to finish his career in Washington last weekend, and the Nationals are effectively forced to fulfill it. "That's a guy they have to sign," one baseball source said. "That's the franchise." Zimmerman is currently signed through the 2013 season, when he turns 29, and two new contracts in the past week have directly influenced Zimmerman's next round of negotiations with the Nationals.

First, the Colorado Rockies gave a massive contract extension worth a total of $157 million over 10 years to homegrown shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, perhaps the closest comparison to Zimmerman in the major leagues. And on Sunday, of course, the Nationals added Werth for seven years and $126 million. The league set a rough market value for Zimmerman, and then the Nationals, if anything, raised it.

If Werth signed for $126 million, just imagine what Zimmerman could command. Zimmerman has proven to be even more valuable than Werth the past couple years, he is younger, and he is a homegrown fan favorite who tends to always do the right thing. One industry source speculated Zimmerman, if he signs an extension similar to Tulowitzki's, could command nearly $200 million.

Zimmerman called Tulowitzki's contract "a great deal for the Rockies and a great deal for Troy."

An extension like Tulowitzki's "absolutely appeals to me," Zimmerman said last Friday in a phone conversation. "I think what you're seeing now is, what these mid-market teams start to do is lock up their young talent. Once they're a year away from free agency, then you're going to have to compete with every team. You throw a deal like that at someone, it's going to be hard to turn down." "