Jayson Werth signs w/ Nationals for 7y/$126m

[PANatsFan]

Holy crap.

Yeah, Rizzo either is a huge liar (doubtful) or this is gonna be a great season.

[Smithian]

If this signing ushers in the era where we see our team having the richest owner in baseball come into fruition, then I'm excited.

Exactly.

[NatsDad14]

joe_sheehan Joe Sheehan
Werth by the numbers: times qualified for batting title: 2; seasons w/ 500 AB: 2; 100 games: 4. Contract years: 7. Age in final year: 38.

joe_sheehan Joe Sheehan
In fairness, the last time a team paid 7/126 for a good, not great player, it won the World Series four years later. Nats in '14!

[Eddie the Expos fan]

Its about time the Lerners spent some money on a quality free agent.  There is still a long way to go to make this team a contender.  But, with this move it proves to me that the ownership is committed to win.

[tomterp]

Combine Werth hitting 15 fewer HRs than Dunn, K of about 150 per season, and Dunn signing for 1/3 the total contract, only four years,

There's more to comparing the two than HR's.

Here's another take by Dave Cameron at Fangraphs.  I've omitted the contract discussion portion, in which he discusses how much the Nats might be overpaying for Werth.  Just the baseball comparison:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/a-jayson-werth-article-without-a-pun-in-the-headline/

Despite expected heavy interest from Boston and Detroit among others, it appears that Washington has swooped in and stolen Werth away from the higher profile clubs. The Nationals are going to use Werth to replace Adam Dunn‘s bat in the line-up, and interestingly, they should expect to see little or no change from making that switch.

Despite Dunn’s superior offensive reputation, Werth and Dunn have been really similar hitters over the last four years. By wOBA:

2007 – Dunn, .399; Werth, .385
2008 – Dunn, .383; Werth, .382
2009 – Dunn, .394; Werth, .387
2010 – Dunn, .379; Werth, .397

Both are high walk, high strikeout sluggers, and while Dunn has a bit more power, Werth makes a bit more contact and is a better baserunner. And, of course, Werth is actually a good defensive outfielder, while Dunn is, well, not.

[chemist]

From the interview (off of mark zuckerman)

Were Nats on your radar before you met with Rizzo and Lerner? "Yeah, absolutely. About the same time I hired Scott [Boras] was about the same time we started talking about the Nationals and possible suitors. Obviously the Phillies had opportunities to sign me long-term, and when that didn't look like that was going to happen, it was about the same time I hired Scott. So right off the bat we were talking about possible suitors for me through free agency, and the Nationals were a team that was at the top of the list because Scott had a relationship with the Lerner family and the organization. He knew how competitive they were and where they were going. He was able to kind of fill me in on what they were all about. They were there from the beginning, I'd say."

[PANatsFan]

[Baseball is Life]

This is beyond idiotic of Buster.  So let me get this straight - they lose Dunn on Thursday, so on Friday they wake up remorseful and fly to L.A. to meet with Werth and best their offer to Dunn by 4 years and $90 million?  I can understand hating the Werth deal but any theory that ties this to Dunn is asinine.  

Buster is an idiot. They made a decision a long time ago to let Dunn go or they wouldn't have let him become a FA. For whatever reason, they did not want him. And now we know it was obviously not about money.

And now they are going about replacing his bat with players they clearly targeted. Look for an other FA signing for 1B. Hopefully, they will have something left for SP. You know, Rizz's #1 goal going into the offseason.:~) (Does anyone think he was blowing smoke about that this point.)

[NatsDad14]

I hope Boras isn't using the Nationals. Wouldn't be ironic if the Nationals establishing a relationship with Boras during the Strasburg negotiations actually hurt them in the long run (Werth, and Pena)?

[PANatsFan]

I hope Boras isn't using the Nationals. Wouldn't be ironic if the Nationals establishing a relationship with Boras during the Strasburg negotiations actually hurt them in the long run (Werth, and Pena)?

Boras is about the but I admire the guy. He gets results, he gets his guys signed, and I don't see him doing anything wrong. I'd want Boras to represent my kid.

[ronnynat]

Werth was 8th in MVP voting last year. Zimmerman was 16th. Dunn was 21st.

[ronnynat]

Boras is about the but I admire the guy. He gets results, he gets his guys signed, and I don't see him doing anything wrong. I'd want Boras to represent my kid.

Dude would be my hero if I wanted to be an agent.

[mitlen]

Waitin' to see Zim's "feel".

[shoeshineboy]

This is beyond idiotic of Buster.  So let me get this straight - they lose Dunn on Thursday, so on Friday they wake up remorseful and fly to L.A. to meet with Werth and best their offer to Dunn by 4 years and $90 million?  I can understand hating the Werth deal but any theory that ties this to Dunn is asinine. 

"Mom and Pop's plan was to move into the neighborhood, establish trust for 48 years and then run off with Jerry's sneakers?"

While there are legitimate reasons to question the Werth deal and and avoid doing carwheels until they actually make more moves that really improve the team, Olney's logic is misguided. It seems pretty obvious that they simply didn't value Dunn to be worth the investment he required. That's all business on both sides. It made it easier to pull the trigger on this deal once the money freed up on the balance sheet. But the idea that they simply saw Dunn go away and then started on this deal to make up for it is silly. I think they under valued Dunn and overvalued Werth. But in the near term, Werth is a net plus on paper given the type of focus Rizzo has regarding the club. They had to make some moves if they wanted to improve the club in any way. They were in a position where they needed to overpay for a quality player like Werth, and desparate times call for desparate measures. But simply chalking this up to a panic move as if losing Dunn was a surprise is stupid. The Lerners have never moved that fast in their lives.

[NatsDad14]

Boras is about the but I admire the guy. He gets results, he gets his guys signed, and I don't see him doing anything wrong. I'd want Boras to represent my kid.

Don't get me wrong, I love Boras. I admire him because he has better character than the owners. He isn't a slimeball like Selig. But, he is the type of guy who could exploit the Nationals situation for his clients like he did with A-Rod in Texas and NY.

[mitlen]

While there are legitimate reasons to question the Werth deal and and avoid doing carwheels until they actually make more moves that really improve the team, Olney's logic is misguided. It seems pretty obvious that they simply didn't value Dunn to be worth the investment he required. That's all business on both sides. It made it easier to pull the trigger on this deal once the money freed up on the balance sheet. But the idea that they simply saw Dunn go away and then started on this deal to make up for it is silly. I think they under valued Dunn and overvalued Werth. But in the near term, Werth is a net plus on paper given the type of focus Rizzo has regarding the club. They had to make some moves if they wanted to improve the club in any way. They were in a position where they needed to overpay for a quality player like Werth, and desparate times call for desparate measures. But simply chalking this up to a panic move as if losing Dunn was a surprise is stupid. The Lerners have never moved that fast in their lives.

Damn SSB, a sense of balance.   Well done ....

[imref]

Rizzo has served notice (via FanHouse).....

"I think it's a big get. I think it says a lot that a player that had so many opportunities chose us to come to. It says a lot about ownership that gave us the resources to go out and get him."

Does this tell people the Nats are coming?

"If they didn't know it by seeing our farm system and our young core players playing," Rizzo said, "then they're not paying attention.

"This just kind of solidifies where the organization's going."

there's a lot more detail in Rizzo's thought process and his view of how he's building the team:

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/12/05/national-credibility-comes-with-werth-deal/

[Baseball is Life]

And one more thing, he was going to leave Philly anyway but I have to admit I like taking one of their best players from them.

It's not like they are going to behave worse at our ballpark.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Honestly, it could be about trading a 2nd round pick for a first, it does make a difference.

and a suplemental.  We gain about $5+mm out of the estimated value of the picks.

[shoeshineboy]

Damn SSB, a sense of balance.   Well done ....

Yeah, there's often way too much black and white regarding this team. It's as if you either have to be the blind faithful applauding every move or you are an idiot nag who will never be satisfied. I just don't think that it needs to be that way. There are always pros and cons. It seems that most people seem to accept that this is a net plus, but there are still an acknowledge level of risk and legitimate desire for additional moves.

[UMDNats]

Good move, especially so soon after losing Dunn. The fans were pretty upset and Werth is definitely a great pickup, even given the cost. We always have to overpay for premium players like Werth.

Would've preferred Crawford but Werth is a great player to add and I applaud Mike and the Lerners for getting it done. Color me surprised.

[shoeshineboy]

Rizzo has served notice (via FanHouse).....

there's a lot more detail in Rizzo's thought process and his view of how he's building the team:

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/12/05/national-credibility-comes-with-werth-deal/

I think these comments are cause for more optimism than the mere signing itself:

Agent Scott Boras said Werth chose Washington out of 8-10 suitors "knowing that the organization was going to be a prominent player for talent in the National League East, and that the (owning) Lerner family was not just signing him."

The Nationals made Werth their top offseason target, perhaps feeling that if anyone could be swayed to come to Washington by money alone it would be someone who just hired Boras.

When the Nats met with Werth two weeks ago, they laid out their long-term plan for the franchise. Rizzo said Werth bought in, and Boras likened it to the Tigers of seven years ago, who came off two 100-loss seasons and signed Ivan Rodriguez -- and then Magglio Ordonez and Kenny Rogers (Boras clients all) followed "Pudge" to Detroit, resulting in a pennant in 2006.

It's fine for people to have this kind of a lovefest when you just paid the guy a whole lot more than he was going to get anywhere else, but now it is out there, and it will be nice to see if they will finally live up to some of their claims.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Wasn't Potomac Cannons the one who made excuses for Rizzo because Dunn could turn into a stiff in the 4th year of his deal. Why the double standard?

He's 70 pounds lighter than Dunn.  He's capable of fielding in CF and has a cannon arm.  He's been healthy since a broken wrist in 2006.  Yet many here were willing to ignore the obvious risk of physical deterioration in Dunn and are saying (MDS, Linty) that this guy is a break down candidate after 3 years.  Sure, like any 31 year old, there is an age curve risk at the tail end of the contract.  But you have to recongnize this guy is much better athlete than Dunn.  Dunn is more of a risk in 2014 than this guy will be in 2016.

[tomterp]

I have to believe that if they say they are not done with the offseason overhaul, that they will follow this up with something.  I am still skeptical that they'll break the bank on free agents, but taking on some salary in trades (like they did with Willingham and Olsen) would certainly be doable.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I wonder if Crawford would have signed for a similar contract? I would have preferred him over Werth.

No.  Crawford is looking for at least 8 years and $20MM AAV.  $160 MM.