Congratulations to Jayson Werth. To start 2008, he was in a platoon with Geoff Jenkins. By the end of 2008, he had won a World Series ring. By 2009, he was a full time starter. By the end of 2009, he had another NLCS ring. Now, Jayson Werth has decided to cash in on the only chance he'll have to be a very wealthy man. And boy has he ever cashed in. 7 years and $126 million from the Washington Nationals.
While some fans might be angry that he decided to sign with a division rival, I feel nothing but happiness for Werth. Werth has already won a championship, and has made it very clear that this off-season was about money for him, not trying to win another championship in Boston or New York. And money is what Werth got. He would have been stupid to turn down the Nationals offered as it is a pretty ridiculous overpay. To put it in perspective, the Phillies were offering Jason Bay money for Werth. If you are a Phillies thing, be very glad the Phillies did not match the Nationals offense. It may sting a bit now, but in year 6 and 7 of that deal and Werth is in his late 30s, it will be a huge burden on the Nationals. That being said, the Nationals could be scary good in a year or 2 if they make the right moves. Who knows what the future holds in terms of personnel moves, but Strasburg will return from injury at the end of the 2011 season and who knows when we will see Bryce Harper debut. I don't think 2012 is out of the question for him.
As compensation, the Philadelphia Phillies receive the Nationals 2nd round draft pick in addition to a "sandwich round pick."
And for those that ever wondered, this is exactly why baseball players hire Scott Boras to be their agent. Congratulations to Jayson Werth and I wish him nothing but the best with the Nationals. If there is not a standing ovation for him at Citizens Bank Park on May 3, 2011, I will be greatly disappointed.
I thought about making a comment about this in the live blog, but it slipped my mind for some reason.
ReplyDeleteBut, you're right Justin about the potential of the Nats. I have a friend, who's a huge Nats fan, who recently went to see some Arizona fall ball. He knows a few scouts, and he told me that there's a consensus that Harper is so good, he could be in MLB in 2011. So, that's something to keep an eye on.
That said, I hope someone does a plot chart comparing Werth's fly balls at CBP to Nats Park. Something tells me his power numbers are going to drop playing in a bigger yard.