NL East

With the Jayson Werth Sweepstakes closed, the Philadelphia Phillies now set their sights on other matters this winter.  The Winter Meetings just commenced today and Ruben Amaro Jr. has been relatively quiet since the Phillies' stunning playoff exit in late October.

What the Phillies will be looking to do from here on out is anyone's guess.  RAJ hasn't made any noise so far this off-season, expect that to change soon.  The Phillies ought to be looking to fill a few voids this winter in order to re-claim their stake in the NL.  

Jayson Werth became a fan favorite in his four seasons with the Phillies, be it because of his great production on the field, his blue-collar attitude and hard work, or his beard.

Werth his 95 home runs, batted in 300 runs, and stole 60 bases. He was the power right-handed bat that balanced a lefty-dominated middle of the lineup. He also was very good defensively, both with his fielding and his arm.

He was very productive for the Phillies. So productive, in fact, he became too pricey to keep.

The Nats overcompensated for the recent loss of Adam Dunn to the White Sox by signing Jayson Werth to a seven-year deal for $126 million. That's $18 million a season.

The Washington Nationals made an early splash Sunday evening when the team announced they’d agreed on a seven-year deal worth $126 million for right fielder Jayson Werth.

The 31-year-old Werth, who helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series, hit .296 this year in his fourth and final season with Philadelphia. He had an NL-high 46 doubles, 27 homers and 85 RBI. Werth was selected in the first round of the 1997 draft by the nearby Baltimore Orioles.

Jayson Werth had the opportunity to get any type of deal from any team he desired. The Boston Red Sox were high on Werth's case for most of the winter and lost out..to the Washington Nationals?!?  The Philadelphia Phillies, the organization that he used as a launching pad to this 2010 Free Agency Period, were even fooled by the "lowly" Nats.

In their short history, the Washington Nationals have been perennial runners-up in the free agency process. The Nationals didn't land the biggest name in Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford, but they came pretty close with the signing of former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth.

The Nationals may have overpaid for Werth—not very surprising news considering his agent is Scott Boras. Washington gave the 31-year-old Werth a seven-year contract at an average of $18 million a year totaling $126 million.

Well, the news has broken that Jayson Werth is officially a Washington National, reaching a seven year, 126 million dollar deal. 

As a Phillies fan, I was holding out hope that Werth would be in a Phillies uniform next season, but after looking at that deal, I am very happy the Phillies did not make such a drastic mistake and pay that much money for Werth.  The Nationals tied themselves down to a player who will be 38 years old when this contract expires and who has never shown he can be the star player by himself. 

In a shocking move, Jayson Werth has signed a seven-year deal with the last place Washington Nationals, snubbing higher-profile teams like the Red Sox. 

After losing Adam Dunn to the White Sox and star rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg to Tommy John surgery, the Nats needed a seat-filler.  Attendance in DC has been pathetic over the years due to a lack of success for the team and high ticket prices. 

The "Lerner's are cheap" mantra lasted just four days.

Jayson Werth, a late-blooming slugger who helped turn the Philadelphia Phillies into a playoff fixture, has signed a seven-year contract with the Washington Nationals that will pay him $18 million per season.

A few thoughts that are bouncing around my head:

In a stunning move that has most MLB GM's screaming and crying, the Washington Nationals have signed free agent OF Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract. Werth is a very good player and one of the top three free agents available, but seven years is far too long and $126 million is way too much money to be given to a 31 year old player.

In trying to rationalize the deal for the Nationals, it makes the loss of Adam Dunn a bit easier to take. Problem is that's about where the rationalizations end.