Ex-Phillies star gets seven years, $126m
Just days after losing slugger Adam Dunn via free agency, the Nationals fought back by signing free agent outfielder Jayson Werth to a shocking seven-year, $126 million contract.
The 31-year-old has established himself as an All-Star-caliber player in the National League. But with fans and critics howling about the loss of Dunn to the Chicago White Sox — and with star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman expressing his frustration — signing Werth to a long-term deal helps alter the perception of a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season since moving to the District in 2005. But at $18 million a year, is that term and money too much for a player who turns 32 on May 20?
“We’re in a position with the Washington Nationals, at this place and this time, that we have to do a little bit more than the championship-caliber, win-today teams,” Nats general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters in Orlando, Fla., where Major League Baseball is hosting its annual Winter Meetings beginning Monday.
The Nats clearly believe that Werth — a versatile athlete capable, for now, of playing all three outfield positions — will hold his value well into the contract. But it’s certainly a risk, one similar to long-term contracts awarded to players like former Nationals outfielder Alfonso Soriano by the Chicago Cubs four years ago.
| The Werth file |
| » New Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth began his career as a catcher in the Orioles organization. |
| » Werth’s seven-year, $126 million contract is the largest awarded to a player by the Nats since the team moved from Montreal to the District in 2005. |
| » The injury concerns that plagued Werth early in his career have dissipated. He is one of just 12 National Leaguers to play at least 155 games each of the last two seasons. |
“Sometimes you have to give the years to get the player,” Rizzo told reporters in Orlando. “We feel this is the type of guy to give a long-term deal with. He takes such good care of his body.”
Werth posted a career-high .921 OPS in 2010 while starring for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was also a key part of that club’s back-to-back NL pennants in 2008 and 2009. Philadelphia reached the NLCS this past season before losing to the San Francisco Giants.
“[The Nats] have done a great job of acquiring talent through the draft,” Werth said. “Everyone knows what a game-changer Stephen Strasburg was last year before he had his unfortunate injury. … And they gave me assurances that the front office will get the talent that we need to be a competitive and winning team.”
Werth blasted 27 home runs and had a career-high 46 doubles in 2010, finishing eighth in the MVP voting. He hit a career-high 36 homers in 2009 and was selected for the All-Star Game that season. Werth originally was a first-round draft pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 1997.
