Most Phillies fans knew that it was coming, but it's still never good to see it when it does. As per Todd Zolecki, Jayson Werth has left the Phillies for the Washington Nationals.
The team may seem like a surprise to some, but the deal is a bigger shock. Werth signed a seven year, $126 million deal, putting him in the nation's capital until he's 38, and at an average of $18 million per season at that. The Nationals have picked up a good right fielder, while the Phillies now have a hole in right.
When you look at the pure numbers of this deal, there was just no way that the Phillies were going to match it. The Nationals offered Werth seven years, and from what everyone had been hearing, there's just no way that the Phillies were going to offer more than five. The Nationals also have made Werth one of the highest paid outfielders in the game, and while Washington missed out on key free agents in Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia, they weren't going to miss out on Werth. The Nationals came on hard and fast, and to be honest with you, the Phillies didn't stand a chance. Not with what the Nationals were throwing out there. Not with seven years and $18 million per season.
It was almost certain that the Phillies were going to lose Werth during this offseason, but there was still hope that he would come back. After all, the Phillies were the only team to pick him up off the scrap heap back in 2007 and then they gave him a chance in 2008 after Geoff Jenkins didn't work out. Over the last two and a half years, Werth has been one of the keys to the middle of the Philadelphia lineup, and while part of that has to be due to having Chase Utley and Ryan Howard bat in front of him, some of it also has to do with Werth's natural talent. There's no doubt about it, Werth is a good right fielder, with a cannon for an arm and power to match, but when he's in a lineup with Ryan Zimmerman and himself, how much protection is he going to get? Plus, Nationals Park isn't nearly as forgiving as Citizens Bank Park, so his numbers might go down next year.
People have seen these deals for outfielders almost every year. They can work, but they don't always. Look back at Jason Bay last year, Carlos Lee a few years back and Vernon Wells in Toronto. Outfielders can have a few big seasons, sign big contracts and then become problems for the team that signed them. I'm not saying that's what going to happen to Werth, not at all. In fact, I hope Werth kills everyone but the Phillies in his time in Washington. What I am saying is that the contract that Werth signed makes him a problem for the Nationals if they ever have to get rid of him. Werth turns 32 next May, which is close to the end of the prime years for most baseball players. Say Werth's numbers start going downhill after two years. No one is going to want to trade for a 34 or 35 year old right fielder who is getting paid $18 million a season. That's why the Phillies wouldn't go further than four years with Werth, and that's the biggest problem that the Nationals are going to have.
For the Phillies, the biggest question now is how will they fill the hole left by Werth. Ben Francisco or Domonic Brown seem like the most likely options, but Francisco has never started full time in Philadelphia, and Brown struggled during the season with the Phillies, and then came home after a poor winter league in the Dominican. Apparently, the Phillies are looking at other options, such as Matt Diaz or Jeff Francoeur, but those can't possibly be long term ideas. The Phillies need another right handed bat in their lineup, and if they put Brown in there, it's just going to be another left hander in the mix of things. It's not going to work for an everyday solution. The Phillies need that right handed bat, and ideas aren't exactly flying in.
Jayson Werth was a good player for the Phillies. He was a key part of the team over the last two years, but to be honest with everyone, he was too old to sign to such a long term deal. The Nationals have more money to make a move like this, so it makes more sense. That doesn't mean that it's a good deal, though.
So long, Werth. It was fun while it lasted.
The Zo Zone: Werth signs with Nationals
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