Did Jordan Zimmermann join a Tigers team on the rise or in decline?

As expected, Jordan Zimmermann is gone from the Nationals.

He's agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract with the Detroit Tigers, his first chance to pitch in the American League.

But what kind of team are the Tigers going to be next season? They could either be an aging team in need of a rebuild, much like the Philadelphia Phillies, or a team planning to return to first place in the AL Central with the addition of Zimmermann.

Zimmermann, who turns 30 in May, will slot No. 2 in the Tigers rotation behind Justin Verlander and ahead of Anibal Sanchez. The Tigers hope both Verlander and Sanchez can have a healthy return to dominance.

Verlander's success depends on how he handles the transformation to control pitcher.

The rest of the rotation would come from a list of prospects that includes Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, Shane Greene, Buck Farmer and Kyle Lobstein.

The Tigers bullpen has been an issue for the last three seasons, but new general manager Al Avila has already kept closer Francisco Rodriguez. In the outfield, the Tigers acquired Cameron Maybin to replace Yoenis Cespedes.

When the Winter Meetings convene next week in Nashville, the Tigers will be looking for another reliever and starter, apparently not at the same cost as Zimmermann.

After dominating the division for years, the Tigers went 74-87 and finished last in the AL Central in 2015. They believe signing Zimmermann, and losing a second-round draft pick in 2016, will allow them to spend their way back to the top of the division.

But it won't be that easy. The Tigers aren't one pitcher away from being the best team in the division. Those days are gone.

The Royals are the defending World Series champions and aren't going to fall apart in the next two seasons. Minnesota and Cleveland, each with a nucleus of young players, are improving and have more staying power than the Tigers. The White Sox are difficult to figure out.

For the Tigers, Victor Martinez, 37, and Miguel Cabrera, 33, have each battled injuries. In short, everything is going to have to go right for the Tigers to win again.

Former All-Star Zimmermann, who had Tommy John surgery in 2009 and a 3.13 ERA in the last four seasons, makes the Tigers rotation better with his no-walks talent and 200-plus innings. He's closer to his home in central Wisconsin, and the money is obviously good.

What's not so obvious is which direction the Tigers are going. Zimmermann may well have joined a team that's going down and not up.