Jayson Werth has always been a starter who thrives in the spotlight, and limiting him to a platoon or bench role would be very difficult to imagine. But Werth, 38, has battled injury after injury throughout his years for the Washington Nationals. In fact, he was limited to 70 games last season.
His numbers weren’t pretty last year, only hitting a .226 batting average with 10 HR and 29 RBI.
However, it’s those same numbers that may convince him to take a platoon/fourth outfielder role. It’ll allow Werth to stay fresher throughout the season, while the young Red Sox outfielders protect the amount of distance Werth has to travel in the field.
Werth can become a lot like Chris Young for the Red Sox; producing powerful offense off the bench as a fan favorite. Again, Dombrowski will have to convince Werth to buy in as a veteran presence who can lead by example at the end of his career. If the long haired outfielder can still hit with some pop, he can be exactly what the doctor ordered for Boston’s power prescription.
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The problem is, Werth may feel like he’s “Werth” being an everyday starter. Additionally, he may look for an expensive contract, since he’s had one his whole career. The money will have to make sense for both sides — perhaps an affordable one-year deal– as the Red Sox have other needs to add and Werth doesn’t satisfy all of them.