Nats' Zimmerman won't talk contract after Friday

The Washington Nationals begin full-squad workouts on Saturday, and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (pictured below) would love to have a long-term contract secured by then. If he can't get a new deal done in the next two days, he said Wednesday that he won't negotiate until after the season.

"It's not fair for me to answer questions about it every day," the former Kellam High and University of Virginia standout told MLB.com. "We have a good team. We need to worry about baseball."

Zimmerman, 27, has two seasons left on a $26 million deal. His agent arrived at Nationals spring training on Wednesday, so talks could be heating up.

It makes sense for the Nats to negotiate a deal now. They have some bargaining power since Zimmerman is coming off a season where he missed 61 games after having abdominal surgery. He finished the year with a .289 average, 12 homers and 49 RBIs. His best season was 2009 when he hit 33 homers and 106 RBIs.

Zimmerman is ranked No. 6 among third basemen in ESPN's 2012 fantasy projections and No. 7 on MLB.com's list.

In other news:

* Free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt could decide Thursday where he's going to play in 2012, according to ESPN's Jim Bowden.

* NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers missed a bullpen session Wednesday due to back stiffness, according to the Los Angeles Times. Kershaw pitched the third-most innings (233.1) in the majors last season.

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