Why Jayson Werth Will Help The Nationals

Considering the less-than-thrilling manner in which the Washington Nationals’ 2010 season expired, I’d pretty much been avoiding watching baseball regularly. In fact, I avoided it so well that I had no idea that winter meetings were beginning. But the Nationals sure didn’t forget. They kicked off winter meetings with the stunning announcement that they had signed free agent outfielder—and former Philadelphia Phillie—Jayson Werth to a 7-year, $126 million contract. I’ll paraphrase my reaction: “What? We got him?”

Now at first blush, you might interpret that as outrage. But you would be wrong, because I think this move is great for the Nats. Here are a few reasons why.

• He has championship experience. Over the last four years with the Phillies, Jayson Werth was a member of a locker room that won 4 NL East pennants, 3 NLDS’s, 2 NLCS’s, and 1 World Series. He knows how a winning locker room works and he’s used to being a team leader. You can bet that Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants that experience to rub off on the Nationals young roster of players.
• He hits with power. Here are some quick batting stats on Werth. Over the last three years, he’s averaged 29 home runs per year. His career OPS is .848 and over the last three years, his slugging percentage has been .500+ (ok, in 2008 it was .498, but close enough). With the departure of Adam Dunn, the Nationals needed another power hitter to potentially hit cleanup. With Jayson Werth, they have one. And in case you’re tempted to worry that his production might drop with the move away from hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, here are his career stats at Nationals Park: 6 HR’s, 13 RBI’s, .580 slugging percentage, and a .970 OPS. I don’t think the drop-off will be too great.
• He makes the outfield more versatile. The Nationals have a couple of questions regarding their outfield that Werth’s addition might help to answer. The first is what to do with outfielder Josh Willingham, who isn’t signed past 2011. Willingham typically plays in left field, but with Werth in right field, the Nats may be able to trade Willingham for some value and move one of their many right-fielders (Mike Morse, Roger Bernadina, or Justin Maxwell) over to left. The second question involves Nyjer Morgan’s long-term future with the club. He hasn’t panned out how the Nats envisioned and Werth does have over 100 games of experience in center field. The team could part ways with Morgan and stick Werth in center, leaving right and left to the other outfielders. Regardless of what the club decides, having options and versatility can only help the Nationals.

$18 million per year. That’s what Jayson Werth’s contract with the Nationals comes down to. It’s not over-exaggerating to say that it’s an eye-opening figure, but to the Nats, it isn’t about the money as much as it is about sending a message. And that message is this: “We’re going to do whatever it takes to build a winner in D.C.”

If that means paying $126 million to a 31-year old outfielder whose production likely won’t have the longevity to justify the size of the contract, then they’ll do it. Besides, consider the intangibles. Bringing in Werth could turn the Nationals into a welcome home for quality & high-profile free agents, and it certainly demonstrates that Washington is tired of coming up short—both in free agency and in the standings. Maybe another way the Werth signing will help the Nationals is that it shows the rest of the MLB that the Nationals are aiming to be movers and shakers in future years, and are willing to pay the cash to bring in anyone who can and will help them achieve that goal.

Especially if their agent is Scott Boras.