MLB Rumors: Five Ways For The Phillies to Solve Life After Jayson Werth
Any day, now Jayson Werth will be wearing a new uniform and a $100-million smile. You can bet your house on the fact that when the 2011 season begins, Jayson Werth will not be a Philadelphia Phillie. This much is painfully obvious by now. What we still don't know is where exactly he will end up when it's all said and done. Werth is already being courted by the Boston Red Sox, though they are not a guarantee landing spot for the star right fielder, they are a very likely destination.
Maybe I need to get off of the Werth case and realize that he will not be back next season. Well, this is now an admitted fact that he will be somewhere else next year. The main reason, from Werth's standpoint, was that the Phillies didn't offer enough years on their deal. Money supposedly wasn't much of an issue. I suppose that $16.5 million per season suffices, doesn't it Jayson? Well, either way, Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro Jr. apparently doesn't believe that Jayson is "Werth" this high price tag.
To their own credit, the Phillies are built and have depth throughout. Though it won't necessarily be easy to replace Werth's five-tool prowess, it is something to acknowledge and prepare for this winter. Domonic Brown needs to grow up on the fly and Ben Francisco needs to be a solid right-handed bat for the Phillies if this platoon is to work.
Here are five ways that the Phillies will survive life without Jayson Werth.
5. Look at The Positives
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During his time in Philadelphia, Jayson Werth evolved into one of the game's top outfielders. That being said, Philadelphia served as his launching pad to the 2010 free agency scene this winter. Werth's canny ability to take over a game with his tools is something that the Phillies will truly miss.
In retrospect, Werth was one of the Phillies' top bargains in team history, yet also one of their biggest gambles. Then-GM Pat Gillick took a chance on Werth, who was coming off of wrist surgery and had missed the entire 2006 season. Gillick knew of his talent from his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers and this proved to be one of his best moves as Phillies' GM.
The Phillies will be forever grateful to Werth for the production that they got out of him considering the chance that they took in signing him for a small contract in December of 2006. Yet also, Werth has a special place in his heart for the Phillies, the only team that gave him a chance after his injury. An injury which nearly put Werth's career in jeopardy. Fast-forward about four years and now Werth is the top free agent in a pretty deep market.
There were indeed many positives that came out of Werth's tenure in Philadelphia. Among them was his helping the club to a World Title and paying them back tenfold in their investment. The only issue now is neither side can nor will agree on putting Werth in red pinstripes for the next five-to-six seasons.
4. Admit That You Knew That This Would Happen
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Admission is the first step, right? Well, the Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. now can admit that they knew this situation would play out this way. They knew that Jayson Werth would again produce a solid season and hit the open market looking for a new home. It was obvious all season long that Werth turned 2010 into one big audtition.
While they could have done something about this,why should they have? They were able to sign Ryan Howard to a mega-deal and still have all the pieces in place to make more title runs. The Phillies are not the New York Yankees. I say this in a sense that the money eventually runs out.
The Phillies prepared for the inevitable (Werth's departure) and now must replace his production. But for me, and many other fans, admit that you knew this was going to happen all along.
3. Find Ryan Howard's New Protection
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"The Big Piece," Ryan Howard is now in need of some protection. Whether this protection will come from the Dom Brown/Ben Francisco platoon, or from elsewhere, is anyone's guess right now. As for losing Werth, this is another aspect where his presence will be missed.
Werth did a solid job over the past two years of complementing Ryan Howard in the five-hole. This is something that the Phillies lose in Werth's departure. They don't have enough patient hitters in the bottom part of the order to protect Howard, none like Werth anyway.
A big question that needs to be addressed may be this one right here. If the Phillies are able to find someone to hit fifth in their potent order, it will make things run much more smoothly this season. If not though, it could plague their lineup. Though all in all, the five-hole committee is a possibility and could work.
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2. Platoon...For Now
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The Phillies feel as if a platoon consisting of Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown is the answer right now, and who can blame them? That's just about their only option, and if they were to add another outfielder (particularly a right-handed bat) this would help make up for the lost production of Werth.
They now will turn to this platoon in hopes of replacing Werth's production at a much cheaper cost. The Phillies will probably pay Brown and Francisco—combined—about 1/6th of what Werth will make next season. Forget the math though, plainly put, Jayson is not "Werth" what he's looking for and the commitment of a five-to-six year deal isn't all that appealing either.
1. Let Domonic Brown Loose!
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Domonic Brown is some several hundred at-bats (one full season) away from becoming a star in this league. His talents are amazing and he's really fun to watch. He should be the man to replace Werth, albeit in the platoon for now, but eventually Brown will be making Philadelphians forget who Werth is.
In time, Domonic Brown will be the best thing to come through Philadelphia since Sergei Bobrovsky—we all know how that's going. Brown needs to start as a platoon member and then become the undisputed starter during next season. He's MLB-ready and as he will continue to grow, he will prove to be yet another five-tool player. Be patient folks.
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