It’s official: the Washington Nationals are ready to move out from the bottom of the NL East.
At least that’s how they feel in our Nation’s capital. That’s why they’ve gone out and made one of the first major offseason moves by signing right fielder Jayson Werth to a $126 million, seven-year contract.
The 31-year-old, who helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series title, hit .296 this year in his fourth and final season with the Phillies. He had an NL-high 46 doubles, 27 homers and 85 RBIs. The usual suspects (the Red Sox and Angles) were expected to lure Werth to play for a major market team, but few anticipated that the Nationals were going to come out on top. After losing Adam Dunn to the Chicago White Sox via free-agency, the Nationals knew that they had to sign a big bat to not only replace Dunn’s run production, but also prove to the rest of the league that they are a team that is ready to take the next step. Nats gm Mike Rizzo believes that the signing of Werth is a step in that direction.
