At yesterday's press conference, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was asked how the team's offense could be good or better without Jayson Werth. Part of Amaro's response:
Jayson had a good year. It wasn't an extraordinary year. He had kind of a tough time with men in scoring position, so he didn't have as productive a year as he had in the past. But I think if he's not with us, there are players that we can acquire or we have in our own organization that can help us be as consistent.
It was odd to see a GM point out a player's shortcoming, although Amaro was correct in that Werth hit .186/.353/.314 in 190 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. Of course, the sample is small and Werth was just fine with runners in scoring position in previous seasons. Werth described the 2010 RISP numbers as an anomaly, talking to CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury.
Werth's new agent Scott Boras sidestepped the runners in scoring position angle, but still defended his client in a discussion with Salisbury. Boras explained, "Compared to '09, he was up 30 points in batting average, 15 in on-base percentage, 30 in slugging, 40 in OPS. He had fewer home runs, but he had 20 more doubles." Valid points. Boras also said Werth's defense was "better than it has ever been," a point that is more difficult to prove. The agent once again praised Werth's "center field acumen," though he's never played there regularly in the Majors.
As he typically does, Boras added that the Phillies have the money to retain Werth.
5 years 16.5 mill…???
I am not great at math but… “15 in on-base percentage, 30 in slugging, 40 in OPS” just doesn’t ‘add-up’.
He kind of rounded here and there, though he did round the OPS gain down a few points so we can’t hold it against him.
I know, I looked up his numbers, but I will still call out Boras anytime possible.
Did anyone not expect Boras to defend Werth? Same guy who oversold Ollie. P to Omar Minaya…. Sigh! I see why players have him as an agent. Good at suckering teams to overpay for talent (or lack thereof).
Perez was there for how long in NY? The Mets couldn’t figure out what they bought before hand?
Apparently not. The guy’s whole career has been sub-par. Don’t know what warranted him a 36 million dollar contract. I wanted Derek Lowe, but the Mets went the cheaper route.
The defense claim is bogus, as he posted a negative UZR/150 in RF and highly negative one in CF. That being said, he does have a career UZR/150 of +10 in RF and +6 in CF with a great arm. Boras just can’t use this year to point out how good his D is.
So we’ll see which GM gets desperate and goes crazy…last year it was the Cardinals for Matt Holliday.
GM’s need to become men, and step up to Boras. Boras might be a good negotiator, but GM’s can stand up to him. I call every GM spineless when it comes to Boras.
Nothing would have made me happier to see Manny not play in ’09 because of Boras’s holding out.
“Werth hit .186/.353/.314 in 190 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.”
Wow, that’s even worse than Prince Fielder’s .233/.451/.301 in 206 PA.
Tough year for Boras clients with men in scoring position.
I can only hope that the tigers don’t look at werth as their big middle of the lineup bat solution.
If any GM takes Boras’ assurance that the Phillies can afford Werth seriously then they don’t deserve to have their job. The Phillies aren’t going to deal out ANOTHER ridiculous contract to someone who will be well into his thirties by the the time the contract is up
I wouldnt mind re-signing Werth only if we can get rid of Old Man Ibanez first. i know this guy hasnt done alot with the bat lately but he is younger B.J. Upton. Watch for the phils to be interested and atleast possibly make a trade offer……….. Just Sayin
Who is going to take Raul Ibanez off the Phillies’ hands? Maybe the Mariners for Bradley, the Cubs for Soriano, or the Giants for Zito, but I don’t think any of those deals work out for the Phillies (maybe Zito or Soriano in the short term, but long-term it hurts badly), and I doubt they have the payroll to absorb the big contract they would need to eat to get rid of Ibanez.
I think the Phillies have some leverage, since Matt Holliday and Jason Bay are good comparables, and in my mind, Werth slots between the two of them. On the high end, Holliday is making 17MM a year. It’s not logical for Werth to command more than that. On the other hand, Jason Bay will be making 16MM in 2011, so the mid point would only be 16.5MM. Lol.
I think that would be a fair price for Weth though. I think it’s the years that are going to slow up negotiations. Jayson Werth has had wrist injuries in the past, and that kind of bothers me. I think anything more than four years is a mistake.
As for the complete contract, I think the Phillies could reward Werth by asking him to backload his contract past this year. After 2011, the Phillies will be removed of Raul Ibanez’s contract, and handing the job to Domonic Brown. Almost a complete wash salary wise. They’ll also have Brad Lidge’s deal coming off the books. His 2012 option is surely to be declined. With the buyout included, that’s 20.5MM coming off the books for two players. Not resigning him because of one year’s payroll would be ridiculous.
Todd Zolecki was on Sports Final(CBS Equiv.) and stated that he thought The Phillies payroll will be up to around $160 Mill this season. So they might have a little wiggle room next year.