BY SCOTT LAUBERSo, Jayson Werth passed his physical today, and a few hours ago, he met with some reporters at the Bank. You already know that it's a two-year, $10 million deal ($2 million in 2009, $7 million in 2010, $1 million signing bonus) that covers his final year of arbitration and his first year of free agency.
But seeing Werth today gave me the chance to ask if the economy played a role in his willingness to do a multiyear deal. Spring training is only about 20 days away, and still, Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn are looking for work. Werth doesn't have to look far to see that Pat Burrell, another outfielder with an accomplished resume, got only a two-year, $16 million contract from the Rays. So, you could understand why Werth, who has never gotten more than 418 at-bats in a season because of injuries, would want the security of $7 million in 2010, which would've been his first year of free agency.
"It's definitely a different year this year," Werth said. "It's a little scary because of the market and the state of the economy. Those guys have a lot of numbers. They're high-talent guys. I don't think it made a lot of sense for either side to sign longer than two years, but to me, it seemed like kind of an obvious settlement."
More from Werth, and GM Ruben Amaro Jr., here and in tomorrow's News Journal.
1 comment:
Would you pay one dime of this guy's salary if you were another GM? The Phils will be on the hook for all of it. Pat Gillick did many good things, but this sticks out as his stinker.
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