That’s the word from Jon Heyman at Fancred Sports, who spoke with the former Phillie by phone.

From the story:

When the great former Phillies and Nats star Jayson Werth walked off the field in Nashville, Tenn. a couple weeks ago, he knew that was it. He knew he’d never play baseball as a professional again.

He had done everything he could, and he knew that would be his last moment as a pro. At 39, after 22 professional seasons, with a recurrence of a hamstring issues playing for Seattle’s Triple-A Tacoma team and no obvious path back to the big leagues. He had played his last game.

Werth didn’t use the word retirement when we spoke by phone Wednesday afternoon, but he made it clear where he stands.

“I’m done … whatever you want to call it,” he said.

He was a World Series champion, a guy who put up more than 400 hits and 80 home runs in four seasons at Citizens Bank Park. Werth lead the Phils in the 2008 series with 8 hits and knocked in 3 runs while batting .444 during the five game triumph. He followed up that performance with a 14 hit, 13 RBI performance in the 2009 playoffs, as the Phils ultimately lost to some crappy team from the Bronx.

That’s how I remember Werth, a member of that wonderful Phillies generation, a guy who did stuff like this:

Werth left for the Nationals in 2010, signing a $126 million deal that seemed crazy at the time. He did pretty well for the Nats but I don’t think he ever justified that contract. Still, the truth of the matter is that he played a big role in turning that franchise from a joke into a playoff contender and luring other star players to Washington. Werth was frequently booed when he returned to CBP, but also got a chunk of applause from a portion of the crowd as well.

That said, I thought stuff like this was kind of sad to see:

Bob wrote a bit about this last September:

So here is Werth having a moment, paying his respects to the city in which he resurrected his career, and we’re fucking BOOING the guy? I know people will read this and say that response is limited to the few thousands idiots left in the stands last night, but that’s untrue. This shit has been going on between Phillies fans and Werth for years. And the thing is, the guy was RIGHT to leave. Ruben Amaro didn’t want to pay him, so he took a monster deal. The guy was only a few years removed from not knowing if he’d ever draw another baseball paycheck. He wanted financial security and to feel appreciated, and we want to crucify the guy for that? Please.

I tend to agree, and I know Werth wasn’t exactly Mr. Personality and could be a bit of an asshole, which he did seem to enjoy. He enjoyed being the villain.

But I think in retirement we’ll look at him fondly as one of the guys who brought this city its first championship in almost a quarter century.