The Washington Nationals are one of the “sexy” picks to be a contender in the NL East in 2012, and Ryan Zimmerman, despite missing about a third of 2011 to injuries, is one of their brightest stars.

If you were counting the days until next year’s free agent derby so your team could salivate about getting the 27-year-old Zimmerman to play for it, you can stop counting now. Early Sunday, Washington Post Nats beat writer Adam Kilgore tweeted:

The Nats and Ryan Zimmerman have agreed to a contract extension, source says. A press conference expected to come after today’s workout.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) February 26, 2012

And ESPN’s Buster Olney has further details:

The new deal for Ryan Zimmerman is for six years, with a club option on a seventh year.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 26, 2012

Ken Rosenthal has additional details on the dollar value of the contract:

Zimmerman deal is six-yr, $100M extension w full no-trade clause. Zim now guaranteed $126M over next eight yr, through 2019. #Nationals #MLB

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 26, 2012

Zimmerman turns 28 in September, so this is his age-27 season, a year in which most players hit their primes. He was the Nats’ first-round pick (fourth overall) in 2005, and is a .288/.355/.479 lifetime hitter with 128 career home runs.

The Nats could be setting their fans up for quite a summer in the nation’s capital.