Jayson Werth: Why Signing With the Washington Nationals Isn’t Just About Money

Sunday former Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth signed a seven year, $126 million contract with the Washington Nationals.  Monday, Werth is already receiving criticism for not only signing with a rival team, but also for going to a non-contendor. 

$126 million isn’t too shabby for a player who is already 32 years old.  Werth faced a long struggle last year hitting with runners in scoring position.  However he brings speed, a strong arm, great glove, and a hot bat to a team who has finished last in the National League East the past 6 of the last 7 seasons (including when the club was still in Montreal). 

Washington is going through an obvious rebuilding process within the organization.  With the top draft pick in the MLB draft the past two seasons, the club has been able to pick up two outstanding young phenoms in Steven Strasburg and Bryce Harper.  The team also has decided to part ways with catcher Will Nieves with the signing of Jesus Flores. 

Strasburg is expected to miss this season as he is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but should be back alongside of Bryce Harper in 2012.  The team should also receive a high draft pick again this year and should be able to add even more young talent to the club. 

With Adam Dunn also leaving the team, watch for Werth to be put in the 3 or 4 spot in the lineup, a position where he will be able to utilize his speed, power, and run producing abilities.  Even if Werth hits 50 homeruns, drives in 150 runs, and steals 40 bases, don’t expect Washington to make a run at the Division title just yet.  Bryce Harper should make his major league debut about halfway through this season if everything goes as planned which will add another power source and player who can drive in runs.  Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond also should compliment Werth and Harper by driving in runs as well. 

Offense is not the only key to the Nationals success.  If Strasburg returns in 2012 and continues to dominate hitters as he did in his rookie season, he should become the number one man in the rotation and has the potential to win 20 games a year.  Livan Hernandez led the team with 211.2 innings pitched this season, finishing with a record of 10-12.  Hernandez’s record does not reflect the quality of his pitching.  His posted a 3.66 ERA with 114 strikeouts.  Lack of offense plagued the 35 year old pitcher.  John Lannan also had a productive season and should be able to have even more success this season if the offense picks up.  The team also had 14 different pitchers start a game this season.  If the team has a core of starting pitchers, and a core offense, they should be able to make some noise in the division and could make a run in the division in the next few years.

So Phillies fans, don’t throw Werth totally under the bus.  While he is not with a contender now, the Nationals could be a contender in the next few years. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why They Were Right Not to Re-Sign Jayson Werth

Well, the news has broken that Jayson Werth is officially a Washington National, reaching a seven year, $126 million deal. 

As a Phillies fan, I was holding out hope that Werth would be in a Phillies uniform next season, but after looking at that deal, I am very happy the Phillies did not make such a drastic mistake and pay that much money for Werth. 

The Nationals tied themselves down to a player who will be 38 years old when this contract expires and who has never shown he can be the star player by himself.

Good luck to Werth. I hope he does well, but I have some doubts. 

Join me as I show you why not signing Werth was the best move the Phillies could have made.

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Jayson Werth: 10 Ways the Phillies Could Replace Him in the Lineup

In a shocking move, Jayson Werth has signed a seven-year deal with the last place Washington Nationals, snubbing higher-profile teams like the Red Sox. 

After losing Adam Dunn to the White Sox and star rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg to Tommy John surgery, the Nats needed a seat-filler.  Attendance in DC has been pathetic over the years due to a lack of success for the team and high ticket prices. 

The last two years, the Nats ranked 24th and 23rd place for attendance out of 30 teams.  The acquisition of Werth should produce a spike in season ticket plans, not to mention a spike in team batting average and runs scored.  The exact terms of the contract have not yet been disclosed, but it is in the area of $126 million dollars.

The real shock is that Werth chose to sign with a last-place team.  The Nats are trying to build a winner, but realistically, this will not happen overnight.  In fact, their biggest obstacle may be the Phillies who have won the division four-straight years now.  But Werth has his ring already so maybe winning is now lower on his list than money and stability.

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Offseason At Citizens Bank Park

Have you ever wondered what goes on at Citizens Bank Park when the baseball season is over?  While it is mostly quiet, there are still a few events going on.  This weekend, the Phillies hosted their annual Holiday Sale with game-used items, books, DVD’s and Phillies collectables on sale.  Much of the sale proceeds go to Phillies Charities.

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Rule 5 Surprise: Potential Impact Arms For the Phillies In the Upcoming Draft

In recent years, the Philadelphia Phillies have made most of their offseason noise in big trades and free agent signings, bringing names like Roy Halladay, Placido Polanco, Raul Ibanez and Brad Lidge to the City of Brotherly Love. However, in the past, the Phillies structured their roster in different ways, including a plethora of minor league deals, trading big names for young potential, spending heavily on the first year player draft and taking a gamble in the Rule 5 Draft. Which, in recent years, has landed All-Star outfielder Shane Victorino and long-relief man David Herndon.

Though the Rule 5 Draft has changed over the course of Major League Baseball history, the concept has remained the same—prevent teams from stockpiling players in their minor league system when other teams are willing to give them a chance to play at the Major League level. When the following conditions are met, a player becomes unprotected, and is then exposed to the rest of the league.

• If signed at age 18 or younger and the player has been in the organization for five years, he is eligible.
• If signed at age 19 or older and the player has been in the organization for four years, he is eligible.
• The player is not added to the Major League organization’s 40-man roster.

Drafting a player is not free, however. Any team that wants to take a gamble on a player must keep two very strategic conditions in mind: Are they willing to pay the $50,000 fee and are they willing to keep this player on their Major League roster for an entire season?

The rules of the Rule 5 Draft states that once a player is drafted, he must remain on the Major League club for the entirety of the forthcoming season. If a team wants to demote him, they must first offer said player back to his former team. If the former team denies to accept the player back, or a team keeps the player on their Major League roster for the entire season, they are then able to option him to the minor leagues.

The Rule 5 Draft is a calculated risk. Recent history has shown that the risk is well worth the reward, however, as names like Johan Santana, Evan Meek, Dan Uggla, Joakim Soria and Shane Victorino, all taken in the Rule 5 Draft, have flourished into all-stars. 

So with that in mind, the following five pitchers could all contribute to the Phillies some way in 2011, but will any of them be a true diamond in the rough?

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Jayson Werth Could Be Headed to Boston, Is Domonic Brown Even Ready?

Have you ever owned a jack-in-the-box? If so, do you remember that feeling of anticipation that sunk deep within your stomach right before the lid popped open? No matter what you did to prepare yourself, nothing could stop the overflow of surprise when that lid popped open, right?

Well, the same feeling has run through the Philadelphia faithful after news of Jayson Werth declining arbitration Tuesday night. We can all say it was expected, but it does nothing to lessen the blow.

And while a few diehard fans will fall deep into the gasping grip of denial and comment, ‘just because he declined arbitration doesn’t mean he still can’t sign,” the rest of us are beginning to move on, and accept the end of a truly great run from a truly great player.

But there are two significant questions that still linger: Could Jayson Werth be headed to Boston, and is Domonic Brown even ready?

Across the Boston University Bridge is another fanbase beginning to wonder if perhaps Mr. Werth could be the offensive addition they’ve been so desperately craving. The rumor is that Boston is, in fact, very interested.

The Red Sox have the second-largest payroll in baseball—we all know who is the current champion in that arena—but they also have significant room to move. Outfielders Bill Hall and Ryan Kalish have been serviceable, but not the Type A power bats the Red Sox need.

In addition to all of this, there is news that eight different teams have shown interest in Hall, and Kalish could be used as possible trade bait in the near future. This could open a clear path for the Red Sox to roll out the red carpet for Werth.

But the question always comes down to money doesn’t it?

The Red Sox could toy with the notion of extending a five-year offer worth a cool $100 million dollars, but that is left to be seen. The Red Sox also know that there aren’t many teams that are willing to compete in such a high-priced arena for one guy—namely Jayson Werth.

The second question is whether or not prospect Domonic Brown is ready to fill some pretty big shoes.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that despite being sent to the Dominican Winter League, Brown has yet to appear in a single game.

And nobody believes Philadelphia sent Brown down there to gauge how comfortable the benches are.

The hot-hitting Phillies’ prospect has been a monster in minor league ball since 2007, accumulating a .296/.373/.464 line with 48 home runs, 232 RBI and 89 stolen bases, so the Phillies are eager to get Brown some at-bats, and back in shape.

But that’s just it, the Winter League isn’t very long. After the league finishes up, there is a month-long layover in holiday happy-land before the advent of Spring Training.

The biggest question is whether or not that will be enough time to get him in shape.

Not being in shape leaves a player vulnerable to injury in Spring Training, and the Phillies can’t afford such a situation with Brown, especially considering the sizable shoes he has to fill in such a short time.

So here we are, the latest scribed chapter in an ever-growing book of questions.

Either way, the coming months are going to be quite arduous for Phillies’ fans to say the least, or as George Herbert put it: “Every mile is two in winter.”

But in the same vein, winter dies into spring, and with such a death rises a new life (season) filled with promise, hope and new beginnings.

Ah, such is the way of the diamond.

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