Jayson_werth_leadoff

Now even the SABR nerds are lambasting Jayson Werth's ludicrous contract.

It took a while. Previously, jabs about Jayson Werth’s ridiculous contract with the Washington Nationals would be met with something like the following from stat heads : He hits a lot of doubles, clutch isn’t a repeatable skill, and you’re just displaying confirmation bias.

Confirm – this –

Let’s see what one SABR man has to say, writing for Baseball Reference:

Jayson Werth became a free agent at just the right time. Over 2008-2010, he posted a 132 OPS+ despite averaging only 29 2B, 29 HR and 84 RBI. He did this largely by batting 5th or 6th behind productive hitters in the Phillies' lineup and by hitting reasonably well (plus walking a lot.) He did well in his role. Then, he became a free agent at age 31 in a year when there weren't a lot of other big-name bats on the market.

Somehow, the Nationals got fooled into thinking that this guy would make a good #3 hitter. This was despite the fact that he's on the wrong side of 30 and generated numbers helped significantly by the team on which he played.

Low and behold, almost one year into the 7-year, $126 million contract, Werth's OPS+ sits at 98 and he may not crack 20 HR or 60 RBI while potentially setting a career-high in strikeouts. Oops.

 

Ouch. Sounds like a shitty investment. The article goes on to compare Werth to other guys with also shitty OPS+ who had enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. The list includes Corey Hart, Jacque Jones, Aubrey Huff, and Tim Salmon. $126 million.

…

Meanwhile, in the Big Apple, potential buyer David Einhorn is no longer a (the only) candidate to buy a minority stake in the Mets. The statement, via Mets Blog:

The New York Mets’ Owners announced today that their period of exclusive negotiations with David Einhorn regarding a minority, non-operating interest in the Mets has expired and Ownership has decided not to extend the exclusive negotiating period any further. After months of negotiation, the parties were unable to reach agreement, and Mets Ownership has decided to explore other options. Ownership has provided additional capital to cover all 2011 losses and is moving forward with the necessary resources to continue to operate the franchise. Ownership will explore other strategic transactions and is under no financial pressure to do a deal on any particular schedule.

 

Judging by the comments (always reliable…) on Mets Blog, most are convinced that Einhorn's desire to be able to take over majority ownership of the team, had Fred Wilpon not been able to repay his investment, was the sticking point.

The Mets: American's car accident.