Jayson Werth Signing

December 5, 2010

The Washington Nationals have officially signed free-agent oufielder Jayson Werth to a contract of 7 years/126 Million. Let me repeat myself. The WASHINGTON NATIONALS have signed Jayson Werth. What the?! Where did this come from?! If you think that Jayson Werth is crazy, well you might be right.

Days before the Winter meetings were slated to begin in Lake Buena Vista, FL, many transactions have happened, such as the San Diego Padres' trade of Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox, Derek Jeter signing back with the New York Yankees ( big shocker, right?), but the most enigmatic was the Jayson Werth signing.

Some may ask, is Werth really werth (pun intended, lock it up great fantasy team name) the contract? Both the Nationals and Werth's agent Scott Boras agree that the contract is fair to both the player and the club. The Nationals were in a dire need of a power hitting, 4 hole hitter after Adam Dunn left via free Agency to the Chicago White Sox. Werth was presumed to be the second best outfielder in the 2010 free-agency class, shortly after the long-time Tampa Bay Ray, Carl Crawford. Now that the Nationals have locked up Werth for 7 years, the only problem is consistency.

Over the past 3 seasons, Werth has accumulated 97 home-runs and 53 stolen bases, great statistics for any free agent. The only problem revolves around his ability to produce year round. At some points in his career, Werth has looked like a slugger, going on prolific streaks, and yet, the next week, he might as well be benched. I have reviewed his swing, and the only thing that seems to be wrong with it is his weight transfer. As his 6'6" frame coils to hit the baseball, he often looks robotic, standing straight and trying to use all upper body, but as you can see on the link above, Werth has incredible power if he uses his lower half more often.

The Nationals have deemed Werth werthy (yes, I know its awful) to be their so called "star" of the team, and he looks to hit in the 4-hole right behind third baseman, Ryan Zimemrman. With Werth in their lineup, the Nationals have become a force to be reckoned with in the NL East, but they still have a few years to become one of the top tier teams in the Majors. Two of the most dynamic prospects in the game, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasberg, the latter recovering from "Tommy John" surgery, a transplantation of the ulnar-collateral ligament in the elbow. In the next few years, the Nationals look to have one of the best 3-4-5 hitters in the major leagues with Zimmerman, Werth and Harper (in no particular order), with a legitimate ace in the making in Strasberg.

However the story is spun, watch out for the Nationals come 2014.