When Jayson Werth signed with the Nationals in 2011 for 7 years, 21 million a year...people turned their heads and went 'eehhhh...I don't know if that's a very good idea'. This was a pretty huge gamble for Washington to make on a guy who came from absolutely nowhere to become the Phillies breakout outfielder. There wasn't a huge consensus on whether or not he'd be for real for much longer, let alone for 7 more years.
Well, five years later...while the ride hasn't been perfect, Jayson Werth is still proving his, uh, worth in DC. Especially this month, as he's been on fire, bashing homers left and right and being the game saver on a couple of very important occasions.
Look, we were all worried in 2011. He wasn't hitting like himself. I went to a game his first year in DC, and he struck out a bunch. "See, Jayson...this is why you shouldn't have shaved your beard" I yelled, semi-sympathetically. I knew he could do better. And...yeah, he totally could.
Next few seasons the old Jayson came back, hitting homers all around, being an absolute menace in the ninth, and being one of the strongest factors behind this up-and-coming Nats team. I'd argue that even with Harper-mania of late, Jayson Werth has been a more consistent offensive threat than Bryce, during his tenure in Washington. There have been years that Bryce Harper hasn't been 100% on target, but in some of those years, Werth totally has.
Look, the guy's 37, and he's made it known that he's human, but he's gone so much farther than anybody thought when the Nats signed up, and he's become one of the defining forces for the Nats. Never the best player, but somebody they couldn't function without, which is important.
The Nats are gonna make another run at the title this year, because they seem to work on the same even-year basis that the Giants do. Werth's gonna be right there with 'em, I think. He's gonna be bigger and badder than he has in the past few years.
Coming Tomorrow- Not just a rookie fluke- this guy's nearly singlehandedly led his team from the bottom to first place.
Each time he looks like he is going to fade away he bounces back with a big season. He just doesn't have a middle gear. It seems like his seasons are either full blown bust or All Star caliber.
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